Go, Going, Gone
by Neeewwy
Summary: What happens when the Gryffindor Seeker is found dead in one of the dungeons? What happens when Lily Evans is the convicted murderer? What happens when the Ministry sends an Auror to catch the culprit? What happens when Lily refuses to believe she loves James Potter? What happens when... well find out what happens when chaos happens in Hogwarts 1977. REWRITING!
1. A judicious Sirius

**A/N: this chapter was sorta boring to write, I know. You'll agree with me once you read it. But I can tell you that if you like the beginning and think I should write more, which I doubt, I'll tell you that I got a lot more planned. There's death, tears, Voldemort, and an awesome side of James that I love but Lily hates. So once you review cause I'm not posting another chapter till you review, you'll be a bit more pleased with what Ive done I can tell you that.**

**Disclaimer: if HP was mine, Harry Potter would have died instead of Voldemort. Then there would be another Harry Potter. And it will be called Harry Potter and the Darkest Days of his life. :D**

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"... James. James? James!" Remus waved a hand over his friend's face, trying to get his attention, but to no avail. James was too busy staring at the back of a certain redhead.

"Hmmm?"

"This is pathetic. You're staring again and it's getting a bit... sickening," he told him in a huff, turning back towards his work.

They were in the library on the first Friday night in their seventh year, trying to finish the homework their Professors piled on them. But of course, if Lily was there with them, only a few tables down, James wouldn't know how to concentrate. And that's how it was from the beginning of sixth year. Since James apologized for doing what he did the past five years, Lily thought she liked James, might even fancy him a bit. But when he told her he would stop bothering her, they've both been miserable since. Until James offered his friendship in the beginning of seventh year and Lily excepted. Since then, they hit it off but from time to time they'd catch the other staring longingly at them.

"Go puke over there," James said, waving his hand somewhere far away from him. He sighed and rested his chin on his hand, watching Lily brush her hair behind her ear as she worked.

"Prongs, just go ask her out," Remus suggested, tired of this... whatever it was. The stolen glances, the flirtatious talking, the bickering, he just wanted them to get together but of course, with them being Lily Evans and James Potter, things were never that easy.

"Are you mad?" His suggestion caught James' attention. "I can't ask her out! I've done it for the past three years, don't you think she'd murder me if I did?"

"Prongs, this is stupid. You obviously haven't seen the way she looks at you."

"Because we're_ friends._ Nothing more, nothing less."

"Friends don't look at each other like you two do," Remus muttered, scribbling the effects of moonstone on his essay.

James didn't hear him, for Lily just looked at them and casted James a smile, making him give her one back. He waved at her to come and join them and she grabbed her books and began walking over to them. He instantly checked his breath and ran a hand through his hair, Remus watching him with a tired expression.

"What? It's my breath isn't it? I knew I should have bought those peppermint toads,"

Just when Remus was about to say how daft James was, Lily sat across from him.

"Hey James, Remus. What are you two working on?" she greeted, smiling at James.

"Well, _I'm_ working on my potions essay, I think James is trying to perfect his stare," said Remus, smirking at a blushing James who elbowed him under the table.

"Where are Sirius and Peter?" she asked after giving them both a curious look. She opened her Arthimancy book, her quill in her hand.

"Practicing Quidditch," James muttered, smirking. Remus snorted, knowing fully well that 'practicing Quidditch' meant 'stuffing their faces'.

"Do you know who you're putting on the team?"

"I'm thinking of Padfoot as a Beater like last year but Serner left so an open Beater spot, me as a Chaser obviously and Vascent if she's still up for it, so open Chaser spot and a Keeper is still Berns since he's in sixth year, " he explained to which Lily nodded.

"When are try outs?"

"Tomorrow. Care to tryout, Evans?" James wiggled his eyebrows making Remus roll his eyes.

Lily kicked him under the table saying, "So you can look up my skirt? Not a chance,"

He chuckled and looked at her books, clicking his tongue in the process. The action made her stiffen and look down at her work.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just that I was wondering why you took the subject." He shrugged one shoulder.

"It's interesting," she shrugged as well. "Why do you take Muggle Studies?"

"It's interesting," James mocked and Lily bit back a smile. "No it's not. I take it to understand you, Evans."

She looked at him curiously, "What do you mean by that?"

"You're interesting, Evans. I wanna know how your muggle side works," he winked.

"Isn't that nice. Thanks for the consideration,"

Maybe it was the light bouncing off the walls from the torches or maybe it was his imagination, but James could have sworn he saw her face redden once Lily turned back to her work.

"Anytime,"

They sat in silence, James and Lily turning back to their work and Remus looking between them now and then. Once he opened his mouth to engage in a conversation, Sirius and Peter made their way towards them, grins on their faces as well as a few crumbs splattered across their faces.

"'Ello ladies," Sirius bowed in front of their table trying and failing to entertain them. Remus looked up at him and rolled his eyes.

"How was Quidditch practice, Padfoot?"

"Oh splendid. Peter and I should do Quidditch practice more often, right Wormy?"

"Yeah, you guys should come some time."

"Good. So you're ready for try outs tomorrow," said James.

"Tomorrow? We just arrived here!" exclaimed Sirius.

"You were here for a week, Sirius,"

"Exactly! Thank you, Evans. We were here for just a week! It's too early, Prongs."

"All the more time to improve, Pads," James said, turning back to his work realizing that the conversation was going nowhere.

Sirius huffed and sat beside him, trying to get his attention by staring at his face but to no avail. After a moment of silence broken by the scribbling quills here and there, he turned to Lily, desperate to push someones buttons because that was Sirius and that's what he does.

"Evans, make the love of your life change his mind."

The effect of that simple statement showed on Lily's face. Her normally pinkish skin turned red in her cheeks as she ignored what he said and kept scribbling and turning pages, rather furiously he might add. Sirius grinned smugly once he realized that she didn't deny it so she must fancy his best mate.

"Prongs, you've got to make a move on Evans. If you don't she'd be - _poof_ - gone," Sirius said once they were out of ear shot from the one subject they were discussing, or rather _he_ was discussing. James ignored him and kept walking towards the Gryffindor common room, not really in the mood to talk about his chances on wooing Lily Evans.

"No really, Prongs. As much as I love seeing you both like love-sick puppies, this has to stop," Sirius picked up his pace to keep up with him. "She would go, now she's going, then she's gone -"

"Sirius I get it! Alright, I know she's being friendly and all but that doesn't mean she wants to be in a realationship just yet. She's still suffering with everything that's going on, she doesn't need me to pressure her into going out," James interrupted, scowling at him.

"You obviously haven't seen the way you two have been the past two years. It's revolting and my advice is to ask her out or she'd go, she'd be going, she's gone,"

"Yeah, well since when has anyone listened to you?"


	2. The villainous James

**A/N: I was a bit down lately because of these massive migraines I have had the past few days so if this chapter is a bit short and out of line and dramatic and stupid, blame the time of the month. Anyway, thanks for the follows I got, love you all. I was at my uncle's house cause we were suppose to have brunch there and I was so insanely bored because I'm not one to do small talk with other people, so I opened my cousins laptop and I almost Gangam Styled right in front of my aunt and cousins cause of the favorites and follows and reviews. Thank you all! But I reeeeeeaaaaallllly want to be one of those big hot-shot writers on fan fiction who get so many reviews, so please review, please. It'll mean the world to me. I'll even kidnap Tom Felton and give him to you. :)**

**Disclaimer: I woke up this morning and faced the mirror. As I recall, JK Rowling is not a brunette and doesn't have hazel eyes hidden behind glasses. You know what that means? I'm not rich, I am not an author, nor do I have a castle in Scotland.**

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"James stop."

"No."

"James stop!"

"No."

"Potter, stop!"

"No."

"Potter, put him down!"

James turned and looked at Lily from where she was standing in the gathering crowd, her face red in frustration, eyes narrowed, and lips pursed as she gazed back at him, her wand in hand.

"No."

"James Charlus Potter, you put him down now or I will," she glared and pointed her wand at Snape's body where he was dangling in the air by his ankle, scowling at the end of James' wand.

"Do it."

"Fine," Lily gave him a long stare before taking the jinx off Snape, letting him fall to the ground with a thump.

The small crowd laughed when the victim ran away fuming. Once they cast a look at Lily, they followed his lead, knowing not to stay in the presence of a very angry redhead, especially this one.

"You are such a loathsome person, you know that?" Lily said, addressing James who was stowing his wand away in his pocket, trying to avoid murder.

"I've been told."

"You've been told? And you didn't stop to think that they are not fooling around? That they actually meant it? Because, quite frankly, it seems you don't give a rats fart."

"I don't."

She groaned and threw her hands in the air before walking right up to him and jabbing her finger in his chest. It angered her that he seemed unaffected by any of her screams and telling offs, but it annoyed her slightly more to see that her current friend picked on her past. It triggered thoughts in her mind, remembering her of the incident in fifth year she swore never to remember.

"And here I am, thinking you changed, but you haven't. You're still the arrogant wry toerag who thinks he's more crirtical than all of us combined, who reckons he's some god who knows everything and everyone in this castle." She pointed her finger at James, her hair in her face as she glared at him while he stood there, hands in his pocket like he was the innocent victim. "You listen here, toerag, I'm sick of you, and everything that revolves around you, so stay away from me. I'm tired of how much damage you caused and you don't bare a shred of shame. Therefore, stay out of my life and steer clear from it." With one last glare, she pushed her hair behind her ears and walked down the now silent and empty corridors.

James just stood, not doing anything but staring at her retreating back as her words echoed through his head and floated around the air like it was bouncing off the walls. His hands that were in his pockets were shaking, mostly from the fear of losing Lily Evans, just when he had the chance of wooing her.

* * *

"Minnie's going to murder you, Prongs,"

"Not now, Sirius."

"Ooh, this is about Evans isn't it?"

James looked up from his hands to glare at his supposed 'best mate' who just entered the common room and happened to cross over James who wasn't in the mood to crack small talk.

"So what if it is? Do you care? It's not that crucial so it's in _your_ life, is it?" he snapped, looking at a bashful Sirius.

"He clearly lost the pot, Moony," he said, looking at Remus beside him. Remus scowled at him before sitting across from James on the table in the far corner.

"What happened?"

"I cocked up, that's what happened."

"What did you do?"

"Does this have anything to do with Snape? I heard Jorkins say something about you hanging him by the air for some foul reason," chided Sirius from where he was sitting beside James.

He nodded yes and took his face in his hands while mumbling, "I'm such a tosser."

"Keep you're hair on, it's not that bad."

"_Not that bad?_ Are you mental?! She told me to stay out of her bloody life because she's sick of me being a toerag and all bullocks," James said, looking up from his hands.

"She said that before, hasn't she?"

"That was before we became friends and she treated me like a human being."

"It wouldn't be that bad. Sure she was a tad angry because you picked on her ex - best friend. However, she'll come through," said Sirius.

"What if she doesn't? You know she wont."

"It depends on the reason that led to why you provoked him in the first place," said Remus, desperate to find a way out of the problem. He hated seeing him so mad and depressed, it was time to be a little more sophisticated to get him back. Now, he just seemed lost and weak in his own boisterous world.

"Avery said something about Voldemort's revenge on people like Lily sooner than we thought when I left Muggle Studies with Wormtail. I aimed for him but I reckon my hand was too shaky so it hit Snape instead. Quite frankly, I didn't care, as long as I hit one of them," explained James, taking his hands off his face to run them in his hair in frustration. It made his heart want to stop in his place at what Voldemort could do to Lily and it pained slightly more that he couldn't do anything about it without knowing what it was.

"What do you reckon they mean by that?" asked Sirius, worry and anger etched upon his face.

"I dunno but we have to keep observing for anything eccentric they do," Remus decided, looking at James across from him. He still seemed a bit disturbed by whatever Lily yelled at him but his hands were off his face in the very least, a sign he came to recognize when he was in the same situation before and he finally let the barriers down to let them in and tell them what happened.

James nodded and added to his statement, "and an eye out for Lily. You know how the Slytherin wankers want her."

They both nodded before Sirius said, "let's go get some lunch so you can build some confidence to apologize to Evans."

"Leave it to you to think about food," mumbled Remus, shaking his head but standing up nonetheless.


	3. The cold shoulder

**A/N: disappointment runs through these veins, see? Not one review?! 214 people read the last chapter and not one of you chose to review?! Not even one?! That's absurd *AND QUEUE STARKID SNAPE*. But really, I feel like Avada Kedavra -ing myself. I really wanna know what you think. If you pity me for my poor writing, if you get all giddy on the inside when you get an email that stay 'new chapter for go going gone', or if you just hate me because I'm a terrible writer and a disgrace to the fanfic writers. Let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: still don't own HP...**

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The chilly October wind whipped at his skin, cutting it like a thousand cold daggers while he lay on the bristly surface of the ground, taking in the beauty of the sky at night. He was starting to get a bit cold but it didn't matter. The Black Lake was the only place for him to escape the world and pretend that there was no war, no Marauders, no Lily Evans, and act like the stars were his friends. But a voice behind him broke him out of his reverie and made him shift on the ground he was laying on to look at the intruder.

"Hey Prongs," came the voice of a fellow Marauder, steeling James' time of pretend there was no Marauders.

"Hey Moony."

"Am I interrupting? Should I leave?" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to point towards the castle before James shook his head and patted the spot next to him. Out of all the Marauders, James liked talking to Remus the most. He understood things and people who would shock most but come as to no surprise to him. He was the judicious out of all of them, he was the one to go to in need of a friend. He was easy to talk to and can make anyone deep better with that smile of his.

Remus sat down beside him cautiously, pondering what was on James' mind from his expression but it remained blank as ever.

A moment of silence was cut when he said, "you have patrol with Lily in a few minutes. Shouldn't you be heading back?"

James groaned and said through gritted teeth, "why can't we switch again? I don't think she'll stand being in the same room with me, let alone spending the next three hours patrolling together."

"We have done so for the past fortnight, all you're doing is running away and being a complete pussy."

"Remus, do you really think patrol with Lily Evans is going to repair the damage that I've caused?"

"Yes, I do. And if you don't leave now there's going to be even more damage to repair and that would mean cleaning up after Lily's murder and making it look like an accident," Remus gave him a pointed look.

James stood up before saying, "you're not changing your mind about this, are you?" and dusting himself off.

"No, I'm not." He crossed his legs at the ankles and laid back, his hands behind him, taking in the sky and it's interpretation.

"Thanks Remmy, thanks a lot."

"You'll thank me later,"

Walking up to the castle seemed to go by as quickly as water dropping on the floor. Very quickly. The fear of having to make small talk with a redhead that has avoided you for two weeks really didn't fit in James' schedule for conquering it. So just when he thought he was inside the doors, he looked up from the ground and wondered why the Gryffindor common room was there on the first floor. He turned around and realized he already walked up seven staircases and he was about the face Lily Evans.

Gulping, he entered the common room slowly and looked around and saw Lily sitting on the couch in front of the fire reading a book, her eyes wandering over the pages.

"Ready for patrols, Lily?" James said, tapping her on the shoulder, causing her to jump and close the book.

"One, don't call me _Lily_. Only my friends have that right. Two, where is Remus?" she answered, standing a good distance away from him.

"He's busy and wont come. "

"Why isn't he coming?"

"_He's busy,_ Evans. Don't you listen the first time or have you gone deaf?"

"I haven't gone deaf, you tosser. Come on, we're already late for patrols I don't want to argue over your sanity," Lily said, biting her cheek to hide the smile and walking past him towards the portrait hole.

Patrolling with Lily Evans was never easy. She could be funny and flirtatious, then turn into a whole new villainous person. She'd laugh and push you a few times to get in the lead, she'd even joke about the students they found, trying to sneak a snogging cession in private but to no avail. Then came the times where she'd ignore the attempts to make small talk, taking the lead in patrols, and deducting way to many points off the students houses for no particular reason. And of course, she chose to be that person that day.

"Li - Evans, _would you just slow down_?" James exclaimed, trying and succeeding to catch up to Lily, who seemed to take the opportunity to speed walk. He looked down at her sideways to see her eyes unmoving towards a different direction but straight with her lips tightly shut. She wasn't pretty, nor beautiful, she was just average, with her red hair and green eyes, her height just right for her age, not too tall and not too short. She wasn't very extraordinary to an outsider, but to James she couldn't be more perfect. It was probably because of all the girls who fawn over Sirius or him or the rest of the Marauders with hair pin straight or curled a bit too much, their lashes too long, lips too glossy. But with Lily, she was all natural, you couldn't spot a waft of make up on her.

James must have stared too long, for Lily said, "what, Potter?"

He winced at the way her tongue formed around his name. He was so used to how she said his first name, it seemed so strange when she said his last.

"Nothing," he shrugged one shoulder and kept walking, looking directly in front of him.

Silence. James took it to ponder more thoughts that traipsed his mind and took him over. How was he supposed to tell her how sorry he was? He tried the first week but she ended up giving him the cold shoulder and pushed him away. He even got Remus to talk to her on patrols but she ended up yelling at him and stalking off. Marlene and Mary tried to help but she pushed them away as well, saying how that was none of their business.

His frustration took him over and he stopped, grabbing Lily's forearm to stop her as well. She jumped in surprise and let out a small shriek.

"Lily, listen. I'm tired of running after you to apologize but you ignore me and shut me off. How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?!"

"Once you become a decent human being instead of a toerag then maybe I'll consider acknowledging your presence," she told him firmly, trying to squirm from his grasp but it led her no where. His grip only tightened and she was starting to get a bit scared for no clear reason.

"Lily, _please_! I'm sorry but you didn't even give me the chance to explain!"

"What was there to explain?! You attacked Severus for no apparent reason and you expect me to be okay with that?!" She finally succeeded in pulling her arm away but James just pushed her up the wall, her back slamming on to stone, making her go week in the knees, or maybe that was James up close. He seemed so determined to give her an explanation it almost made her feel guilty. Almost.

James' arms were above Lily's head, trapping her from any way of escaping. He seemed to notice for he said with pleading eyes, "let me explain then you can choose what you want to do. Give me the sour grape or the sweet one."

She nodded, not having any choice but to nod. It was either that or she would take out her wand and hex him but she kind of liked the feel of his body pressed against hers, his chest heaving and brushing her's with every shaky breath he took.

James took a deep breath and started rambling.

"I was walking out of Muggle Studies with Peter when the Slytherin cock-ups came and started yelling at us and saying how muggle - borns, well they didn't say muggle - borns they said the equivalent to it, like you would get your revenge sooner than we thought. I aimed for Avery who said it but it hit Snape and that was where you came in. I didn't even think of what hex or jinx, it all happened so fast, I didn't realize what I've done and_ I'm sorry_, I swear I am. I can't begin to explain. It's just, knowing how I had you then lost you is torture, even though we weren't in that part of that stage of romance, just friends. Lily, it killed me inside, I promise you." He breathed several times and stepped back, keeping his distance from her and running his hands through his hair, nearly ripping it out.

Lily stood, cold from the lost contact of James pressed against her. She stared at him, almost pitying him for what he has come to. Sure he could be a little sensitive but never this much. It was a side to him she never knew, but there's a lot she doesn't know about him and she really wants to explore those sides, if it takes days, weeks, or months.


	4. Breaking the news

**A/N: 'Ello loved ones. Here is another chapter, but fair warning. I did this in class cause I was bored and the teacher just gave us a lecture on how we're supposed to do good this semester, its 2013 and it's a new year and we gots to work extwa hawd. I'm like "blakh..." and I started writing DIS! Review pweeeeeaaase?! Thanks for the people who reviewed last time, maybe I can get double the reviews?! So anyway, I don't want to jinx it cause that's what I do so read, AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer: who here thinks I'm JK Rowling? No one? See... I'm not Mrs. Rowling who is the creator of my universe.**

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"Morning James, Sirius, Marlene."

"Morning Lily."

"Pass me the ketchup, James?"

"Here you go, Lily."

"Thank you."

Marlene and Sirius exchanged a look, wondering if the world turned upside down.

"Um... are we missing something here?" said Sirius, a bit confused by Lily's actions towards James. Just yesterday she would scram from the room when he entered and ignore his sorry looks sent her way. Now, she was being friendly with him, and that hasn't happened since James jinxed Snape.

"What do you mean?" said James, looking confused.

"For starters, Lily isn't at your throat," said Marlene, her shocked face mirrored with Sirius' when they both laughed.

"We are definitely left out here."

"Morning," said Remus, sitting beside Lily and flashing them all a smile. He reached for a pitcher but a hand smacked his away and he looked up to Sirius give him a look.

"What was that for?!" he exclaimed while rubbing the back of his hand.

"You know something we don't, don't you?" Marlene jerked her head towards James and Lily who were engrossed in a conversation with occasional laughter across from her.

"Has the world turned upside down?" came Mary's voice. She sat across from Remus, beside Marlene who threw dirty looks at James and Lily now and then. She couldn't comprehend how that could happen right under her nose. Mary looked at the James who seemed to be laughing at Professor Kettleburn whilst he tried to take a sip of tea without spilling the liquid all over himself, Lily smacking him upside the head, a smile on her face.

"Morning Mary," said Remus, smiling at her.

"Morning Remus. Why are they acting friendly and having a laugh with each other? Wasn't Lily avoiding James?"

"They were. Now they're just ignoring us. Watch." Sirius leaned forward and pressed his arms on the table, addressing James who was trying to get Lily back by tickling her on her side but she was as still as ever. "James, the Slytherins are vomiting outside! James, muggles are in Hogwarts! Prongs, Snape has his knickers on his head! Oi, you twit! McGonagall and Dumbledore are in a heated snogging session on the table! OI, Mr. I'm-So-Bloody-Attractive-And-Lily-Evans-Loves-Me?!"

James looked up with a smile on his face as he succeeded in tickling Lily Evans by the back of her leg to say, "what?"

"Morning James, Lily."

"Morning Mary."

"You two seem... preoccupied."

"Oh, you see Remus. We sort of made up last night during patrols," Lily said, looking down and playing with her hash-brown, trying to avoid the knowing smile on Remus' face and the pointed look Marlene sent her. Sirius otherwise seemed to be glaring at James who was rubbing the back of his neck self consciously.

"Well, I've got Quidditch practice in a few minutes so I'll be on my way. Coming Sirius?" James stood up from the group and waited for Sirius as he exchanged a silent argument with Marlene. She pushed him up by the collar of his shirt and said to James, "he's coming," and flashing him a smile.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" exclaimed Sirius once they were on their way towards the grounds. He looked at James who seemed unaware of the smile on his face.

"Tell you what?"

"That you and Evans snogged last night! Isn't that something you tell your brother?"

"Sirius, we haven't snogged."

"Then why are you cozying up with her?"

"We decided to be friends."

"Weren't you just?"

"That was until I jinxed Snape and she hated me for it. Then I explained what happened and here we are," James waved a hand.

"You forgot something," said Sirius before entering the Quidditch cabins. He turned to grab his broomstick.

"What did I forget Sirius?" asked James once he followed suit of Sirius.

"The part where you two snogged!"

"We _didn't_ snog, Padfoot!" he said in a huff. He shouldered his broomstick and made his way to the door, Sirius on his heels.

"You didn't snog?"

"No, we didn't."

"You never said anything about shagging."

"_We didn't shag!_" James stopped to mount his broom before scowling at Sirius and taking off, Sirius following his lead.

"But you wanted to," he said once in the air.

"Hey look, there they come. Come on guys!" James yelled at their team. They waved at him and walked inside to grab their brooms.

"Final question. Did you make any sexual contact with her at all?" asked Sirius quickly before James swatted him upside the head.

"No we didn't."

"But you wanted to?"

"Sirius what happened to final question?"

"Sorry, sorry."

* * *

"So?"

"So?"

"What was it like?"

"What was what like?"

"Snogging James Potter!"

Lily looked up from her book to scowl at Marlene. They were in the library, attempting to do their several essays they had before lunch. She clamped a hand over Marlene's mouth, ignoring the look she gave her.

"Shut it. People might actually think we snogged," said Lily, removing her hand before Marlene could bite her. She looked at Mary and shared an exasperated look.

"So... did you snog?" asked Marlene, leaning forward on her arms to look at Lily closely.

"No, we didn't snog," she answered firmly.

"Well... did you shag?"

"Marlene!" exclaimed Mary, looking at her revolting.

"What? It's a simple question."

"No Marlene, we didn't shag or snog."

"Well, did you kiss?" asked Marlene, none-shamefully

"No, we didn't kiss," Lily said curtly, burying her red face with her book.

"There's something you're not telling us here," said Mary, leaning in to look closely.

"Mary, I thought you were on my side!"

"Lily, we're talking about you and James possibly getting together and having secret snogging cessions. There is nothing but the truth here so lay it on the table," she said to Lily who dropped her book.

"The truth?"

Mary and Marlene both nodded and Lily placed her book down on the table, her head leaning in towards Mary and Marlene from across her.

"We didn't snog, kiss, or shag," she whispered and they both groaned. Lily leaned back, a satisfied smile on her face. She picked up her quill and began working on her essay.


	5. The phrasing James

**A/N: this might just be the longest chapter I've written yet, and I'm pretty proud of how it came it. But I am disappointed but that feeling was ruined when I found out my dad was getting me a YO HARRY YOU A WIZARD SHIRT! AHHH I KNOW! I'm freaking now but I'm still disappointed cause I got no reviews. I guess what happens is, the chapters I take little time in writing them you guys review but the chapters I take forever in writing you guys ignore them. So it goes like reviews, no reviews, reviews, no reviews, then today I'm gonna get reviews cause I aint posting another chapter till I get five reviews. Anyway, enough of my rambling so on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: still not a billionaire...**

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Sirius groaned and covered the pillow over his head, trying to muffle the sound of James Potter screaming at the top of his lungs. It was a Saturday, for Merlin's sake, you think he'd he a bit more silent.

"Up, up, _up!_ Today is the big day!"

"James, shut up and let us sleep for two more minutes," came Peter's groggy voice across the room. James through a dirty sock at him and opened the curtains with such force, they fell off their hangers and landed with a heap on the floor.

"Um... well that's why we have magic. Now, stop kipping and get up! It's the big game today and we have to get ready." He kicked the curtains to the side and brushed his hands on his pajama pants, crossing the room towards Sirius who was snoring heavily. James grabbed the edge of the mattress and flipped it over, causing Sirius to sprawl on his stomach on the ground, the matress on his back.

"Prongs, you tosser!"

"It was either that or a bucket filled with ice-cold water dumped over your head. Which I'm about to do to Peter if he doesn't get up," James raised his voice so it could carry across the room to Peter who sat bolt upright on his bed at the mention of cold water and his name.

"I'm up! No need for the water, I'm up!"

"Alright, now Moony. I reckon the ice sounds perfect right now, don't you think, Pads?"

After muffled swearing from Sirius (who was trying to get up from the ground but the weight of the mattress pushed him down), Peter (who was now glaring at the dirty sock James threw earlier at him in his hand), and Remus (who was on his way to the loo but swatted James with his towel on the back of his head) to James, they began getting ready to go down to the Great Hall.

Drying his hair off with a towel, Sirius looked at the clock besides his bed and looked up at James who was looking for a sock in his trunk.

"It's half-past seven, you cock-up!"

"It is?" He looked up from his humming to stare at the clock. incredulously, he said, "Oh, it is. Must have woken up at six then." He rubbed the back of his neck self consciously.

Sirius, Remus, and Peter all glared at him before throwing anything they could get their hands on towards him.

"Ow! Alri - oomph - I get it, I messed u- _OW! Was that a shoe?"_

They all paused their fighting to look at Peter who grinned shamefully and said, "sorry," and threw a pillow at him instead.

"Alri - ugh - _enough!_" James breathed in deeply from where he was standing on his bed, one hand pausing Sirius who was trying to hit him with his own pair of dirty underwear, his other stopping Remus from swatting him upside the head with a shirt for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, and glared at Peter who had his pillow in his hands. "Enough. I know I woke up early and made no attempt to look at the clock, but look on the bright side. We spent half an hour fighting -"

"- Beating you up, more likely."

"We didn't notice that it's already eight. Now can we _please_ go down to breakfast without you hitting me again?" he continued and glared at Sirius who interrupted him before.

"He has a point, you know. Let's get down before one of you start pissing yourself with nerves," said Remus and James let out a sigh of relief, but not before Remus swatted him with the shirt again.

"_Ow! What the bloody hell was that for?!_" he rubbed his neck, glaring at him as he wore a smug smile.

"For good measure."

"Git."

Walking down to the Great Hall would have been in silence if it wasn't for James' attempt to liven the mood with the upcoming Quidditch match. He kept pointing out random things about either the weather, the grounds or other various subjects.

"The sun's a bit hidden behind the clouds so that's a bit of an advantage 'cause you Beaters can't be seen without the sun in your way. There seems to be a rain cloud in the far east, let's hope it wafers over us and doesn't stop but hey! At least it's not monkeys outside!"

"What in the name of Merlin's shaggy nickers does that mean?" asked Peter, looking at James like he was a flobberworm as they walked through the double doors. Not many people seemed to be up, just a few Slytherins from the Quidditch team, two Ravenclaws and a group of Hufflepuffs whom looked as if in two minutes, their faces would be in their oatmeal from fatigue.

"It means, dear old Wormy," said James as he began sitting down, reaching for some sausage and eggs, "that it's not chilly outside. Dad used to say it to me back in the day, when I was a weey lad."

"Here we go again..." trailed off Remus, rolling his eyes and sitting beside Sirius, across from James and Peter.

"Your tales of being a 'weey lad' are boring, Prongs. Even if it does involve a small occasion of Dad, which entertains them up a bit. But just put a sock in it. We really don't want to hear what Mum made on Christmas day of 1965 or whatever your bloody mind has to offer. So please, be quite so we can mourn over the loss we will make at the game today," said Sirius, looking up from his toast to glare at James who opened his mouth to say something. However, Peter took the opportunity and shoved a sausage inside James' mouth, shutting him up.

"Oh, thank Merlin. I thought I'd be hearing the voice of James Potter forever."

James swallowed and pointed his fork at Remus. "Don't get your pants in a pandemonium, Moony. You're not the one playing."

"Yes. However, _I_ am the one who's attempting to eat, so if you don't mind," he pushed James' fork down and took a sip of coffee.

"Morning!" Lily's sing-song voice appeared behind James who choked on his juice. She sat beside him, smiling at the lot of them whom half grunted, half greeted her.

"Morning Lily. How are you on this fine morning?"

"Um, fine I guess. How about you James?" she responded, her face mirrored with Remus'.

"I'm dandy. Just dandy." He gave her a dazzling smile and shoved some scrabbled eggs into his mouth as more students entered the Hall, excitement of the Quidditch game buzzing the air.

"What's wrong with Sirius and Peter?"

"They're a bit knackered -"

"Lily-Bean, he woke us up at six!" interjected Sirius, looking at Lily desperately whose face split into a smile.

"I didn't mean to! I forgot to check the time, what was I supposed to do?! I woke up, the sun was out so I thought 'must be eight by now', so I woke you lot up!"

"One of the reasons why you shouldn't think!"

"Woke us up by screaming in your boxers a song by the Cockroaches."

James and Lily gasped, looking at Peter offended.

"They're the Beatles, Wormy. Not Cockroaches. Beatles," said James, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb.

"What song were you singing?" Lily looked at James, surprised he knew about the Beatles.

"I'll follow the sun," he mumbled, looking down and playing with his eggs.

"You like that song?"

He shrugged one shoulder and said, "Mum sings it at Christmas. I dunno why, it has nothing to do with Christmas."

"I dunno but my favorite song by the Beatles is definitely the two of us," she said.

"The duet? Nah, my favorite is I got a feeling. Sort of makes you wanna dance, doesn't it?"

Lily nodded and reached for some toast, looking up and noticing the stares she got from the rest.

"What?"

"You have something in common with James Potter," said Peter, staring at her.

"You both like the same music. And I thought Lily was one for sappy romance," muttered Sirius.

"Hey! That's not fair, the Beatles have some great music some of them are about love," defended Lily, narrowing her eyes at them.

"And they have great beats, like I'm in love, " added James.

They all stopped their conversation to look at the new students who entered. Mary sat beside Remus with a good morning and Marlene flopped next to Sirius with a groan.

"Morning to you too, Marlene."

"Shut it, Potter. Some of us are not used to waking up at seven in the morning on a Saturday," Marlene growled back, glaring through puffy eyes at Lily who grinned.

"Same here, love. Except Potter woke us up at _six_," Sirius said, comfortably rubbing Marlene's back.

"Seems like you and Prongs have more than one thing in common, Lily," said Remus, smirking. Lily punched him on the shoulder, smiling at her plate.

"James? Pass me the salt?" Mary asked politely.

"Bob's your uncle," James said and handed the salt to a confused looking Mary.

"Bob's my uncle?"

"It means, Mary, there you go. I'm surprised you even know about that, James," said Lily, looking at James like she never seen him before.

"Oh, Dad used to tell me all these phrases when I was a kid and since it's his birthday, I thought I'd share a few."

"Oh, shit. I completely forgot about that. I didn't get him anything," cursed Sirius under his breath and James chuckled.

"Course you did. That's why I already bought him a gift from me _and_ you."

"Thanks, mate. You're a life saver, " Sirius gave James a grateful smile.

"Knew you'd say that. That's why I woke you up extra early," James grinned wickedly and Sirius' smile faltered. The rest just laughed at his face.

"Alright, chaps! Gryffindor team outside!" James howled over the bustle of students, standing up. He was met by cheers and jeers of many as the team walked out with pumping hearts and wracking nerves.

"Now, it's a gloomy day, might rain, the sun might come out, but no matter what, remember I will never _ever_ forgive you if we lose," he preached once in the locker room. He looked around at his team whom were wearing their Quidditch robes. They growled at him as he said this and stood up, walking over to the door.r

"Ready, boys?"

"And girls!"

"And girls?"

"Ready!"

"Alright, let's head out," and they walked out the door towards the stadium, where clapping, stomping, and other various ways of cheering greeted them.

"And Gryffindor on the pitch! Potter as Captain and Chaser, followed by sixth year Chasers Vascent and Spinnet, Beaters Black and Okerly, Seeker Raven, and Keeper Berns. Odd patch this year Potter picked up, let's just see if he made the right choice of putting Black back on the team. Since half the team are girls, I wouldn't doubt he's flirting with them instead of practicing," waved Bertha Jorkins' voice over the crowd, which laughed in response. Her introduction was met by a rude hand gesture from Sirius and a shout from Marlene saying, "He has girlfriend you -"

Lily laid a hand over her mouth from where she was sitting in the stands. "Save it for Quidditch, Marly."

"Such a knob-head," she muttered and turned back around, facing the pitch while muttering under her breath.

"And the Slytherins, Captain and Keeper Avery, followed by the Beaters, Goyle and Crabbe, Chasers Rowle, McNair, and Vincent, and their Seeker Lestrange," introduced Jorkins while the Slytherins came out, mostly to boos and jeers.

"Captains, shake hands," said Madam Hooch, pointing at James and Avery. They scowled and had a silent staring contest before trying to make the other wince in pain from their grasp.

"Mount your brooms," she instructed and they did as told before she blew the whistle.


	6. An upturn at the Quidditch match

**A/N: I really wanted to update this yesterday even if I didn't get reviews but I got caught up in watching Gamer (with Logan Lermam. EEEK. By the way, never watch that with your parents kids,) and after that HP DH part 1 and I was too busy crying over Dobby to write. Never watch HP with your Mum if she hates it. She'd laugh at your tears, that's what happened with me. On with the chapter that might be a bit confusing! Oh and I was thinking about doing a story (Jily of course) that's about December 25 (Christmas) from 1971 - 1980 cause there is no Christmas day for Jily in 1981. Unless, I do one for the Dursley's. Let me know what you think and if it's a good idea!**

**Disclaimer: I'm NOT a blonde...**

* * *

They kicked off the ground, soaring through the air, twenty, thrity, forty feet up.

"Slytherin in position with the Quaffle. Rowle to McNair - back to Rowle and stolen by Potter - Gryffindor in position, Potter heading towards the Slytherin goal posts - passes to Vascent who passes to Spinnet and back to Potter who scores for Gryffindor!" Bertha Jorkins howled over the cheering crowd consisting of Gryffindor's joining in with the Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's.

"YES! GO POTTER!" screamed Marlene, clapping and cheering loudly while Lily joined in, her gaze never taking short off the raven-black, untidy hair.

"Vincent with the Quaffle and - ooh - Blugder to the back making him lose the Quaffle. Spinnet in position, dodges a Bludger from Crabbe, heads to the goal posts - passes to Potter who passes to Vascent - shoots - blocked by Avery. Try better next time, Gryffindor."

"Bloody bugger," muttered James up in the air as he hovered while glaring at Jorkins' form in the stands.

"Alright, Captain?" asked Sirius, appearing next to him. He looked around the pitch, Beaters bat in hand awaiting a Bludger.

"Yeah. Just once you see a Bludger aim it at Jorkins. Maybe it'll teach her a lesson or two. Sodding Slytherin," James responded and flew back in the game, catching up to George Spinnet and Alexia Vascent.

"You alright, Potter?" asked Spinnet, tossing him the Quaffle and dodging a Bludger.

"Fine. Let's just finish this game before I lose control of my broom and it crashes into that buggering Slytherin over there," he answered and tossed the Quaffle to Vascent.

"Seems like Potter was too busy chatting it up with Vascent and Spinnet, he lost the Quaffle and Slytherin now in position. Rowle heading towards the goal posts with McNair and Vincent either side of him - dodges a Bludger from Black - and SLYTHERIN SCORES!"

Moans and cheers greeted Jorkins' commentary, the Slytherins making the loudest noise they could muster by stomping, clapping, hollering, or whistling. The Gryffindor's groaned so Marlene's cursing was heard with many others.

"Ten - ten with Gryffindor in position. Maybe Potter can actually mantain it and score like last year. But then again, he's friends with Evans so Merlin knows what she's got him into, studying instead of practicing," Jorkins said through the megaphone while McGonagall tisked behind her.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Lily yelled, looking at her incredulously.

James' hands upon hearing this, were shaking too much, the Quaffle slipped in between his calloused fingers and dropped. He looked up and gave Jorkins a rude hand gesture that got applause from all around.

"Potter drops the Quaffle - Rowle catches it - tosses to McNair - reaches the goal posts, aims and - Bludger on the head by Okerly. Gryffindor back in place - Spinnet passes to Vascent who tosses to Potter who scores. Twenty - ten with Gryffindor in the lead."

The hazy rain caused James' glasses to fog and blur as he howled over the cheering crowd to Raven, "Oi, Raven?! Find the Snitch yet?!"

She looked back at him, her golden hair dripping wet and splattering everywhere as she shook her head. "No sign of it yet, Captain."

"Find it so we can end this!" He waved and sped back up to Vincent who had the Quaffle.

"Potter just finished flirting with his Seeker Raven, and has decided to join the game. Welcome back Potter. Slytherin Chaser, Vinscent with the Quaffle - passes to Rowle and - Potter stop cursing and pay attention or - ooh Bludger to the shoulder."

James groaned through gritted teeth and swerved back towards the Quaffle after yelling Jorkins and getting hit by a Bludger, one hand on his right shoulder while cursing the day Jorkins was born.

"GET BACK IN THE GAME, POTTER! STOP BEING SUCH A GIRL AND FOCUS!" Marlene shouted besides Lily, whose fingers were clawing at her face, peeling at her cheeks in nerves and anxiety.

"Do you think he's alright?" she muttered, watching him dodge another Bludger, Quaffle in his right hand while he clutched his shoulder with the other.

"He's fine but if he doesn't win this game he won't be," threatened Marlene.

"Rowle steeling the Quaffle from Potter, seems like cursing the commentator wasn't a good idea except wanting to get hit by - the Slytherin Seeker spots the Snitch! Lestrange and Raven neck and neck, Raven reaches and - Lestrange pushes her off her broom -"

"PENALTY! PENALTY HOOCH!" the Gryffindor's yelled, leaping out of their seats and jumping to the edge of the stands to look at the Seekers.

Confusion filled the crowd, whispers filled the air while Jorkins tried to dispheare what happened as she was on the edge of her seat.

"Well, Lestrange pushed Raven off her broom and she's no where to be found. Lestrange lost sight of the Snitch but where is Raven? Gryffindor has no Seeker, I suppose. And Slytherin scores by Rowle! Wait no - Keeper Berns got hit by the Quaffle before so Hooch ordered a penalty shot for Gryffindor and Potter puts it away easily. Thirty - ten to Gryffindor, I don't know how the players can see with all that rain. Slytherin Chaser Vincent with the Quaffle, loses it and Vascent with it now - passes to Potter - back to Vascent and through the hoops! Forty - ten to Gryffindor. The Gryffindor Seeker still no where to be found but wait - Lestrange sees the Snitch! If Raven appears now Gryffindor has a chance -"

"BLACK HIT HIM WITH A BLUDGER, YOU TOSSER!" Marlene shouted, standing up in her seat. Sirius aimed for Lestrange but it was over.

"SLYTHERIN WINS! Lestrange caught the Snitch! One hundred and sixty to forty with Slytherin!" Jorkins screamed and the crowd roared. Groans and objections covered the Gryffindor's and a few Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's. The teams made their way down towards the muddy ground, the Slytherins celebrating with Lestrange being carried through the crowd, his hand around a tiny golden ball.

"CHEATS! YOU SLYTHERIN WANKERS ARE CHEATS!" Marlene shouted once she was down on the pitch, Lily, Remus, Peter, and Mary either side of her.

"Marlene calmed down. It's just a game," Lily said, looking towards James' slouched figure across the field.

"Lily, it's not just a game. If the Slytherins win the Cup at our last year at Hogwarts, how will we live?! This is all Potter's fault."

Lily hardly heard what she said. She was too busy trying to get through the crowd and towards James' figure before he walked through the doors to the locker room alone.

"James! Wait up!"

He turned around to see Lily jogging towards him in the heavy rain. He instantly stood straight and his hand went to his damp hair.

"Hey, Lily. Enjoy the game?" he said, wincing at how stupid that sounded.

"Not really, to be honest. How's your shoulder?" Lily pointed at his right shoulder that was slightly lower than the other.

"Nothing Poppy can't fix. I've taken worse, some to the head, some to the back, and a particular rough one right here," James pointed towards his heart, wiggling his eyebrows, his face split into a cheesy smile when she pushed him playfully. They began walking towards the lockers rooms.

"That's sappy, Potter. Real sappy." Lily looked around the slowly emptying Quidditch field before dropping her voice and saying, " what do you think happened to Alexia? It's no coincidence that Lestrange just happened to push her off and now she's nowhere to be seen, don't you think?"

She looked up at James' face which turned morbid at the mention of his Seeker. They walked in silence, Lily waiting for his answer and James contemplating what happened when they reached the locker rooms.

"I'm going to change and shower quickly, are you going to wait here for me in the cold and rain because you fancy me, or go up to the common room and catch up to Marlene?" he said, turning towards her and trying drollery to change course of the conversation. She looked up at him and shook her head a smile tugging at her lips.

"I'm not waiting in this weather for you, even if I do fancy you. So I guess I'll just go and prevent any murders caused by Marlene Mckinnon, so I guess I'll see you upstairs?"

"Yeah, I guess so." He turned and began walking inside when he stopped and looked at Lily's retreating back. He called to her, "hey, Lily! Be careful, yeah?"

She turned and began walking backwards towards the castle. She winked at him and said, "I'm always careful, Potter. Looks like you forgot from those one too many Bludgers to the head," and began walking with her back towards him to the castle, her hands in her pockets.

Her feet leading her towards the Gryffindor common room, Lily's mind swirled with thoughts. James' and the Bludger to the shoulder, Alexia Raven and her sudden disappearance, Marlene and the possibility of her becoming a murderer. Just when she was half way up the steps to the first floor, an ear-splitting scream that sounded as though a whisper from far away broke her thoughts and echoed through the hollow of her ears making her foot that was half-way on the step stop and swirl around. She took out her wand, racing towards the screams that were heading off to where she thought the scream might be.

As she reached the dungeons, her feet began walking slowly and cautiously, her ears listening for any small sound. Her breathing was the only sound in the halls except for the small clatter her shoes made. She rounded the fifteenth corner and walked between the walls that looked like at any moment, the stones might crumble and collapse under the weight and pressure. She has never been to this side of the castle, deep down in the dungeons, far away where no one can hear.

Just when she thought the scream was her imagination and decided to give up, something in the far corridor caught her eye and she rushed to it, wand steady before her.

Blood covering her blond hair, making it red, Alexia Raven lay sedantary and frail before Lily Evans as she let out a strangled cry.


	7. The rumours

**A/N: so... •_• nothing much to say except I'm supposed to be doing my literature homework but I didn't feel like it so I wrote this! Instead of studying. I would have uploaded sooner But I was watching HP GoF. And here it is. Next chapter, who ever reviews will get a response here in the chapter! What great honor! So... yeah. Reviews are like Jon Cozart's tee shirts. Bloody amazing.**

* * *

Pressing her palms in her eyes, making various colors and shapes appear in her eyelids, Lily groaned. The questions the pestering, the observing, it all made her nauseous and tired her even more than she already was.

She was sitting in Dumbledore's office, her hands pressed on her face while her elbows rested on her knees on the night of the first Quidditch match, but on more important matters, Alexia Raven's death.

After the Quidditch match, Lily heard a scream as she made her way up the first floor and curiosity took her over. Normally, if someone heard or seen anything abnormal, they'd call for anyone they see in site to help. However, the hallways were empty and no one was materializing in the corridors. So she followed the echoing screams and reached the dungeons where, deep down inside it, Alexia Raven lay sedentary and lifeless.

After seeing Alexia, Lily ran down the silent, creepy corridors to find anyone that might be useful to the situation. Just when she realized she was running down corridors that seemed as though no one has walked through them in ages, Professor Slughorn, the Potions master, appeared out of his office down the hallway she was in. Ignoring his yell of shock, she took him by the arm and led him towards Alexia's body.

"And what were you doing at the time and place of the incident?" asked the Ministry official from across her and in front of Dumbledore's desk. Lily looked up at him, her narrowed eyes meeting his dull hazel. She's been sitting in the circular office, hours later after the Quidditch match, doing nothing other than answering the Auror's questions for the past three hours since he came.

"Are you accusing me of killing Alexia?" Lily scowled, looking from Dumbledore to the Auror before her for any sign of drollery. However, Dumbledore's face remained as pensive as ever, his twinkling blue eyes searching Lily's face from behind his spectacles. His fingers were aligned together in front of him, fingertips pressed together.

"Of course not. But your timing and appearance must be questioned as they are quite... eccentric," he answered, eyeing Lily's state of appearance. Her hair was out of her pony tail, making it fall around her pale face, her eyes were red from the tears she let loose hours ago, her hands and robes were soaked with Alexia's blood that was pouring out of her forehead and a slit through her chest.

"I didn't kill Alexia if that's what you're hinting at," Lily glared, her hands on the arms of her chair, clutching it tightly it made her knuckles turned white.

"If you didn't then why is it that she happened to pass away when you were there?"

"She was probably beaten badly, her heart rate failed once I reached her, or are you too busy with covering everything up, from Voldemort to putting away innocent people in Azkaban without giving them the time of the day?!" Lily turned on her seat to look at Dumbledore. The man opened his mouth to retort, a scowl on his face but Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him. He straightened in his chair and talked directly to the Auror.

"Mr. Jenkins, I suppose Ms. Evans has been through quite enough, she needs rest."

"But Professor Dumbledore, a student _died_ today! Matters need to be taken into hand and this possible death could be _murder._ And as Ms. Evans is on the face of it, we need to take precautions and all the statements that might lead to this murder!" he snapped back, his quill quill clenched tightly in his hand.

"I didn't murder Alexia! Are you mental?! Why would I kill a student?!" Lily said, halfway out of her seat as she glared at Jenkins who looked furious.

"Lily, sit down. I understand that this is hard for you but we cannot work pass this easily. If you cooperate you can be let go and no charges will be pressed against you." His voice sounded calm but strained, as if he was forcing himself to steady his breathing.

"Mr. Jenkins, it's now past midnight and I presume Lily here is overwhelmed and shocked by the loss of her fellow friend. Anything that must be said can wait till tomorrow, or as I come to think about it, _today_ as we spent the first few hours of it with you pestering her," Dumbledore said, looking calm but his voice made it clear he didn't want to argue.

"Dumbledore, Lily Evans must be kept here until we have taken the information we need from her! This isn't something that can be rescheduled at all! This is _death,_" said Jenkins, standing up with his quill in one hand and parchment in the other. Lily groaned inwardly.

"For those who are smart enough to observe and accept, death is only another challenge we must overcome." Lily almost smiled at this, knowing that this was something Dumbledore would say.

"This is murder, Dumbledore, not some illness that comes and goes. There's a murderer in our midst and things must change!"

"The only thing that has to change is the way you run things in the Ministry!" Lily snapped, standing up but Jenkins was a head taller than her so it made no impression.

"No, Lily, you may leave. I find a cup of hot chocolate with a few small marshmallows on top helps clear the mind better than any potion Poppy can give you," he said and Lily gave him a tired smile and a plain expression to Jenkins.

"'Night, Professor. Mr. Jenkins," she yawned and walked out of the circular office, the peculiar objects winking at her, and down the spiral staircase, leaving the voices of arguing behind her.

* * *

"Are the rumors true?"

"I dunno, but I heard Evans had something to do with it."

"Nah, _Lily_ Evans? She's too much of a goodie-two shoes to even prank a student, let alone murder them."

"So it seems. But I heard that she was down in the dungeons doing something. No one has seen her since the game. Remember when Raven went missing during the match? After that, Evans just disappeared..."

"Did you hear?"

"Alexia Raven?"

"Lily Evans?!"

James groaned and rubbed his temples with a forefinger and thumb, closing his eyes. It was after midnight and students just happened to be awake after the rumors spread like wildfire. He only heard snippets of their conversations, some about Alexia Raven, his Seeker, getting murdered, others being Lily Evans the murderer. It all made his head pound and his eyes swirl and his heart thump. Having enough, James stood up from his place on the couch in front of the fire and turned, facing the room with a scowl on his face.

"OI! It's half past one in the morning and if you have anything besides gossip to sprout out of your mouths, say it before I hex all of you to kingdom come."

The students stood from their spots and glared at their head boy before walking up the stairs towards their dormitories, talking in whispers.

"Wow, Prongs. I didn't think I'd mistake you for one to take gossip seriously," said Sirius from the floor across from him, trying to liven the mood.

"Sirius, please be quite. I'm not in the mood. My Seeker is rumored to be murdered by Lily Evans, you'd think you'd be a bit more practical?"

"Sorry, sorry. It's just you lot look depressing, I thought I'd like to bring back the boisterousness in the mood," Sirius defended, looking up at them. James was lost in depression and melancholy, Remus who was sitting beside him, taking a moment of silence for the death or Alexia and Peter was nowhere to be found. But they all thought that Peter had a bit of a crush on Alexia so he thought he was crying in a dark corridor alone.

James ignored him and instead, stood up and started pacing in front of the table, his arms crossed and his chin on his hand, Sirius and Remus' eyes following him from across the room.

"James, relax. Lily'll be back soon," Remus tried to reassure him but Lily entered the common room so it wasn't necessary.

"James..." she said, rushing towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest and inhaling his scent she needed most. He wrapped his around her waist, pulling her closer to him as he pressed his face to her hair, closing her eyes.

After a few moments, Sirius cleared his throat and Remus elbowed him but the damage was done. James and Lily pulled away, standing at an awkward distance before Remus decided to break the tension.

"So, Lily. What happened? We heard something about Alexia..."

"Oh... No it's alright, James," she said once he gave Remus a look. She sat on the couch, her eyes on the ground. She looked up at James who was still standing and started talking, her eyes never leaving his. "I heard this... scream and went to see what it was once the game ended and I walked to the dungeons where I saw... I saw Alexia and then I didn't know what to do so I just searched for someone to help and then Slughorn came and I carried her up to the Hospital Wing with his help but it was already over. She was gone, James, gone."

He was sitting beside her then, his thumbs brushing away the stray tears that fell from her eyes. Remus and Sirius sat in silence, occasionally exchanging a look that said something has to be done or looking at Lily who was rambling about how the Ministry had been notified and an Auror called Jenkins started questioning her for hours on end.

"...and he thought that I killed her. So Dumbledore defended me and in the end we had this row but I left on Dumbledore's orders. Reckon he's still in there, yelling at him," she finished with a deep breath, her head on the arm of the couch as she stared into the fire in between Remus and Sirius.

"Who do you think... you know - did it?" said Sirius, looking at each one in turn. James ran a hand through his hair and took a glance at Lily before turning back to him.

"Well, Lestrange pushed her off her broom, yeah? Then she disappeared without a trace of her existence and she just happened to be in a dungeon, deep down in the castle."

"Prongs, if you think the Slytherins have anything -"

"Moony, the Slytherins have everything to do with it! If you observe it more closely and open your eyes, it's quite obvious they have it in their bag! Tell me, Remus, what's Raven's blood status?"

Remus raised an eyebrow at James before answering slowly, "Muggle-born."

"And what do the Slytherins have against muggle-borns?" Sirius chided, arms around his knees, hugging them close to his chest.

"Sirius, this is _murder_ we're talking about. It's not as simple as _Accio_ or _Expecto Patronum._ This is serious."

"Exactly! You can't deny the Slytherins don't have something to do with it. She went missing and then appeared to be murdered right after the game!"

"This isn't something we can just throw on the Slytherins this time -"

"Enough," Lily's voice said from beside James, her eyes closed, hair falling into her pale face, the fire making it seem yellow and her body was shuddering when they all turned to her. "Enough. Just stop it, please. I don't want to hear one more sound," she said, her voice cracking as the image of Alexia's body appeared in her mind.

The boys exchanged looks and made a silent agreement.

"We're sorry. You're probably tired and exhausted from the days events and we understand. But if you think we're leaving you here when you look like shit, well think again."

Before she could open her eyes and ask what he meant, she was lifted off the couch. One arm underneath her knees, the other behind her back, carrying her towards an unknown destination. She opened her eyes and looked up to see the face of James Potter above her.

"You know you can't go up to the girl's dormitory," was the only thing she said.

James smiled and looked down at her, his eyes twinkling. "You think I haven't tried, Evans? That's why I'm taking you to_ our_ dormitory."

"I have legs, you know."

"Yeah, Prongs. She _does_ have legs," said Sirius from behind him as they climbed up the stairs towards their dormitory.

"I'd hate to see them get injured. Besides, I quite like you in my arms."

Lily rolled her eyes at this, a small smile tugging at her lips. She buried her face in his chest, nuzzling it while closing her eyes slowly.

Remus opened the door and entered the slightly chilly room, turning the lights on and letting James enter with Lily in his arms. He crossed the room and laid her on his bed, covering her with the sheets. She buried her face in the pillow, inhaling it's scent that seemed so familiar but she couldn't quite place it, maybe because she was slowly making her way to unconsciousness.

James kissed Lily's forehead and crossed the room, making his way to bathroom. When he returned, Sirius and Remus were already closing the hangings around their four-posters. He opened his trunk to pull out his pajamas when Lily whispered, "where are you sleeping?"

"On the floor," he replied, fishing around for a pair of trousers.

"Don't do that. I don't want to be the one who removed you from this oh-so warm bed," she said, sitting up slowly but James waved her back down.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine, it's what I want," he whispered, turning back to his trunk.

"But I want you to sleep here," Lily said, glaring at him through sleepy eyes.

"Stubborn much?" James smirked, pulling out some trousers and pulling them on.

"Sassy much?" Lily retorted, scooting over to make room for him and patting the spot next to her. He smiled and walked over to her, laying down slowly with Lily while she wore a satisfied smile.

"There, happy?"

"Much," she replied sarcastically.

After a moment of silence, when James thought Lily was asleep and Lily thought he was asleep, she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, smiling when she realized his heartbeat matched her own.


	8. Marlene's ambushing

**A/N: °_° thanks for the reviews. Can you sense the sarcasm? Sorry, I don't mean to be pushy but how can I know if you guys like this or not?! I'm thinking of abandoning this story cause it certainly isn't going the way I planned and you guys don't tell me what you think! AT ALL. So how should I know?! I'm going to start a new story for James and Lily, December 25 from 1971 - 1980 and then a Dursley Christmas in 1981. So here is the chapter none of you have waited for. I wrote this at lunch cause I'm sorta like that geeky kid who sits at her own table, keeps to herself and does nothing except read and write. So here you go... °_°**

_**DistrictIreland:**___**Thank you for saying my writing is actually amazing! I'm sorry if I've annoyed you the past few chapters... I have that problem. I just like knowing what you guys think and you're like my main reason why I write this FanFiction. You and another reason but I ain't there yet. :D So thanks for your support, you're like... AMAZING and if I could hug you, I swear I will. **

**_eb . fd_ -lena: Dude (can I call you dude? I call everyone dude...) can I say how much I love you?! I mean like seriously, you're like my twin soul. I'd totally be friends with you :D and the fact that you love Jon Cozart is like insane. And Starkid... what else is there?! If I could send you a Yo Harry You A Wizard T-shirt I'd so do it! You're the second reason why I write. I write for you and just knowing that someday someone will be there to support me through my writing career is overwhelming.**

**_Guest (1):_ Thanks for reviewing and I posted real soon! It's been like seven chapters! **

**_Guest (2):_ Thank you! OMLV (That stands for Oh my Lord Voldemort if you dunno :D ) its great knowing some people out there like my writing and plot! And I hope I'll keep it up!**

**_Anastasia:_ Yay! You like this! I was starting to doubt if anyone liked it... but then again I have many doubts and no self-confidence :D**

**Disclaimer: - that word says it all**

* * *

James woke to something blowing in his ear, quite uncomfortably. He rolled over, pulling the pillow closer to him. It was unnaturally warm, with the whiff of lavender. Or was that vanilla? And surprisingly soft. But there was a stench to it, some sort of smell that made him wrinkle his nose in disgust but not letting go of it. It was far too comfortable to walk away from. And besides, who wouldn't want a pillow that was hugging him back?

Whispers, a disapproved huff, and the slam of a door made him open his eyes and blink several times to adjust to the light in the room. The vanilla and lavender scent made him roll over and see if the pillow was actually a pillow. But why would a pillow be hugging him back? And why does it have ginger ha-

_Oh..._

Realization took him over and he slid her out of his grip, pushing her over so she rolled on her side, her back facing him, and smacked her lips once or twice before admitting a small sigh. He smiled and sat up, getting ready to go down to the common room.

* * *

"... but Moony. It's almost lunch and they haven't gotten up yet!'

"Sirius, Lily needs her's rest. Alexia got murdered yesterday, she found her, and the Ministry reckons she's the culprit. Don't you think sleep is better for her than food?"

"No, actually I don't. As a matter of fact, I think eating helps. She'll eat away her feelings."

"Padfoot, that is really insensitive," Remus scowled at him as they walked down to the common room. Once they reached the ground, they were ambushed by Marlene's pestering.

"Where's Lily? Is she alright? Did she really - do it? Is Alexia really dead? Did Lily - where's James? Is he with Lily? Why is he with Lily? Is she alright? Or are they secretly having a snogging session in a broom cupboard? I knew -"

"Merlin Marlene, breathe! Have you forgot? You suck in some air from either your nostrils which is up here or your mouth which is the hole in your face that's always moving," Sirius smirked and pushed her towards the couch as she glared at him over her shoulder.

"So where's Lily? She's not really snogging James, is she?" Mary asked them, settling herself in the armchair opposite Sirius and Marlene in the deserted room.

"I reckon Marlene's starting to rub off on you. She's up in our dorm, sleeping and_ not_ snogging," answered Remus, sitting on the arm of the couch.

"That's beneath them. Shagging, more like it," Sirius muttered.

"Sirius," Remus warned before turning to Marlene. "Smack him, will you? He's closer to you. She's not - she's just sleeping -"

"In Jamesie boys bed -"

"What? Back up, I'm loosing track. Why would she be in Potter's bed? As I recall, her's isn't demolished or anything. Therefore, why would she be in his bed?"

"Who is sleeping in whose bed?" came James' voice from behind the couch. He rested his elbows on the top of the couch while rubbing his eyes away from sleep. He looked up to find them all eyeing him. "What?"

"So how was it?" asked Sirius, looking up at him and wiggling his eyebrows.

"How was what?" he asked, looking at Remus who rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Getting laid?" piped Marlene, a smug smile on her lips.

_"What are you talking about?!"_

"You and Lily of course!" said Sirius, turning around so his legs were tucked underneath him as he faced James, looking him straight in the eye.

"Did you do it?" chided Marlene, sitting in the same position as Sirius.

"No, we didn't!"

"Then what did you do?!"

"What are you supposed to do in bed?"

"I can name a few things," said Sirius and Marlene smacked him upside the head.

"About time," sighed Remus and Sirius glared at him.

"If you're suggesting we shagged, we didn't," James explained, running a hand in his hair.

"Then why is your hair a rat's nest?"

"Really, Padfoot? It's always like that."

"Or is it...?" he raised an eyebrow and Remus gave him a disdainful look.

"Honestly, how did you get seven O.W.L's?" he said.

"Because I'm a smart-arse and Minnie fancies me," Sirius answered, puffing out his chest. However, his demeanor was ruined when Marlene eyed him and swatted him again, ignoring his mutter of "Ow! Sheesh, woman, you should have tried out for Beaters. You could knock out Goyle with that arm of yours..."

"So how is Lil -"

"Is she alright? Why didn't she sleep in our dorm last night? Are you guys secretly in a relationship?" Marlene cut Mary off and gave James a look that said, "Spill or else..."

"One, we are _not_ in a secret relationship, if we were why would I be down here with you instead of my 'secret girlfriend'?" James said while Sirius muttered, "He has a point."

"Two, she's sleeping and as far as I know, alright -"

"What do you mean 'as far as you know'? What happened?! She didn't really murder that Raven bird, did she? Tell us!'

"Marlene! I can't tell you if you keep interrupting, now can I?" James said, giving her a look and she waved him on to continue. "Three, she slept in our dorm because she came back late. She was tired and almost half way to sleep so we took her to ours instead of her sleeping on the couch."

"Why was she late? Was she in bad shape?" Marlene gasped and said through her fingers, "she wasn't attacked, was she?"

"Marlene! Pipe it and I promise you your questions will be answered. Just please be quite," pleaded Remus, having enough. Honestly, the girl was worse than Sirius, and that's saying something.

When she nodded, James continued. "She was late because the Ministry sent an Auror to figure out why Raven was murdered."

"So it's true? Alexia really is murdered?" her voice came out as a choke when Mary looked at Remus, almost falling off her seat.

James nodded and looked around the empty common room. He answered, his eyes on the fire across from where he was standing behind the couch, watching it's essence burn and crackle around the black stone, "Somebody killed her and the Ministry thinks she's guilty."

"Why? Her timing was just wrong, that doesn't mean she did it!" Mary said, looking from James to Sirius to Remus in turn. They all shrugged, lost in thought. "Wait. Where's Peter?"

"We dunno. We haven't seen him since after the game when he said he wants to stop by the Library, something about an unfinished Herbology essay," confirmed Remus, looking concerned.

"You don't think Peter has anything to do with it, do you?"

"Mary,that's just being daft. He can't produce a Patronus, how could he _kill_ someone?" he said, disbelieving. Sure, Peter hasn't shown his face since after the game but he trusted him. He was one of them, wasn't he? He was a Marauder through and through, right?

"Yeah. The odds of Peter killing anyone is like a flobberworm beating a Blast-Ended Skrewt in a race, " said Sirius, looking around at the looks he got. "What?"

"Nothing," they chorused, knowing there wasn't a point.

"Hey guys," said Peter, sitting on an armchair where he was visible. His hair looked lighter than usual, there were brags under his eyes, and he looked like he came from a battle; horrible.

"Peter, what _happened_ to you?" Mary looked at him, her eyes wide.

"Nothing, just didn't get a good night sleep is all." He shrugged.

"No really? You look horrible," Marlene chided, sitting correctly again with her back to the couch.

"Thanks for the info."

James, Remus, and Sirius all eyed his state, knowing fully well it had nothing to do with sleep. He saw them looking and gulped nervously before saying, "what?"

"Wormy, does your appearance have anything to do with the death of Alexia Raven?" questioned Sirius, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

He choked back a fearful sob and said, "what do you mean by that?"

James and Sirius shared a knowing smile and Remus rolled his eyes looking at the two girls who were watching the interrogation earnestly.

"We knew it!" James jumped and walked over to Peter, sitting on the arm of the chair while Sirius sat on the other. Peter looked up at them nervously, debating if they actually knew or not.

"K - know what?"

"You fancying Raven, duh!" Sirius said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Remus looked expectantly at Peter while Mary and Marlene finally picked their jaws up from the floor.

"W - what? I don't," he cleared his throat. "I don't fancy Raven."

"Peter, Peter, Peter. Denial is the first step to love. Look at James here with Lily. She hated him for _years,_ now they're secretly snogging in broom cupboards. It turned out, she was just in denial!"

"Sirius, we are _not_ snogging discreetly!"

"Denial is the first step to truth, Prongsie."

They all stared at him before the Portrait hole opened, revealing the students as the climbed in, whispering behind their hands and talking but stopping short once they saw James.

"Potter! Is it true Evans is in Azkaban? I heard she got arrested for killing Alexia, is it true?" called Miles Dickens, a fifth-year, from across the room.

"Who told you this?" James asked, his hands were up in fists as he glared at him.

"Jorkins, of course!"

"Why would anyone listen to her? She's just another sodding Slytherin who can't keep her mouth shut!" Marlene said, her face twisted in disgust. What she said about Sirius flirting with other girls still hurt.

"So it's not true? About you and Black? I hear you guys were in this big row and everything and you're close to breaking up." Miles looked happy because he got to interrogate them when the others all had their jaws clenched, fighting the urge to pounce at him and tear his smirk in pieces.

"No it's not true!"

"Oh, well in that case Potter and Evans aren't discreetly snogging then, right?"

"Why does everyone think that?!"

"It's the way you two are around each other, Potter. Too close for comfort, yeah?"

"No, we aren't snogging!"

"Well, see ya!" He waved and walked out of the Portrait hole chatting with his other two friends.

"You know, I'm famished. Shall we go get lunch?" asked Sirius, trying to change course of their anger. He stood up and stretched.

"Yeah, let's go. Lily'll be awake soon and she probably doesn't want to go outside by now, we'll just bring her something on the way." James stood as well and shoved his hands in his pockets, walking to the portrait hole with the rest.

"Did Dumbledore say anything? About Raven getting murdered?"

"Not yet. Reckon he's saving it for dinner," answered Marlene.

"Yeah, he always saved important stuff like this till dinner when everyone's done kipping," said Sirius and the rest walked in silence, ignoring the looks they got from the students they walked passed.


	9. Theories

**A/N: Oh my Lord Voldemort, I feel so guilty right now. I just want to bury myself in Jon Cozart's newly constructed castle. I feel like I just forced all of you to review and I - no matter what - really didn't want that. God, I feel so stupid right now. Anyway, I'm sorry, so sorry for the last chapter, I was in a foul mood and I sorta let it out on you guys. Gosh, I'm really sorry. If I keep going, the chapter would be filled with my apologies so I'll just start.**

**I might not be posting as much as I usually do cause my exam results are coming out tomorrow and I'm worried and anxious, and my mother has connections to the teachers so I can't lie to her about my grades... O.o So if I don't get at least B's I'm a goner.**

**And every eight chapters I'm going to respond to my reviews THAT ARE NOT FORCED!**

**Sorry this chapter took long, but I wrote it like five freekin times and I'm still not happy by the way it turned out. I got so much planned for further chapters I dunno how I thought about abandoning the story. WHICH I'M SORRY BY! So here it is, and again I'M SO FUDGING SORRY!**

* * *

"... Everyone of you, if you see or hear anything eccentric, please inform a member of staff so the culprit can be caught. If you have witnessed anything involving this death, it will be dully noted. For your safety, the Ministry has ordered an Auror to replace a staff member here at Hogwarts. Do not be frightened by this death for we are doing our best to insure your safety and the murderer shall be caught." Dumbledore's speech echoed in the silent Great Hall, bouncing off the walls and into the ears of the students who looked up at him, their faces masked in depression. Their eyes searched his calm face before looking down the staff table, towards a man with brown military-cut hair and dull hazel eyes.

"That's Jenkins! He's the Auror who reckons I'm the murderer," whispered Lily at the Gryffindor table. The Marauders and her friends looked between her and Jenkins whose eyes wandered over the students faces before landing on Lily.

"Why is he staring at you?" asked James over the rumble of the students who resumed their whispering behind hands and putting their heads together, looking from Dumbledore, who was still standing but with his head bent towards McGonagall as she whispered cautiously in his ear, to Jenkins who was still staring at Lily without any emotional expressions.

"I dunno, but it's starting to frighten me a bit," Lily replied, staring back at him.

Dumbledore turned towards the students again, his face seemed to age just from the minutes that passed by, and pointed towards Jenkins, who finally looked away from Lily, whilst saying, "Tim Jenkins is going to be replacing Professor Famble in Defence Against the Dark Arts until the culprit is caught. He'll be looking out for all of you whilst teaching, so please give a grand Hogwarts welcome to Professor Jenkins."

The students from first year to seventh looked at Dumbledore as if they have never seen him, before clapping half heartily to Jenkins who showed no sign of being acknowledged.

"There's something fishy about him," muttered Sirius darkly, his eyes narrowing at Jenkins who Professor Flitwick was chatting to.

"At least it's not Famble. That woman was creepy," said Peter, shoveling food into his mouth.

"I agree with Pads. Something is up with that chap. Reckon he's in Slytherin?"

"Prongs, not all 'creepy' people are in Slytherin. Look at Slughorn, he's hardly creepy at all."

"Moony, Slughorn is practically a millennial old and fancies Lily. If that's not creepy I dunno what is," snorted James and Lily kicked him under the table.

"That's not true," she said. "He just... thinks I'm a star student which, let's face it, I am," she said, batting her eyelashes and they all snorted into their dinner.

"Lily, I think you spend way too much time with us Marauders. I thought being cocky was a sense of ignorance and ignorance leads to being a toerag?" James smirked at Lily who kicked him again.

"That's irrelevant so shut it." Lily pressed her finger to her lips, indicating him to be quite.

"Lily, Jenkins is staring at you again," Mary said nervously from across her, jerking her head towards him. Lily looked up and scowled, her smile fading.

"Let him stare. We all know he thinks I'm this - this villainous delinquite that needs to be arrested and put in Azkaban, but let him stare. Let them _all_ stare. I don't give a rat's fart about them 'cause I know what I did and it certainly didn't involve murder," she said, holding her chin up high with her hands on her hips.

"That's the spirit, Evans!" Sirius wooed, clapping and attracting attention from around them.

"Thank you Sirius," she bowed her head and continued eating, ignoring the peers she got.

* * *

"Hey Evans! Weren't you supposed to be in Azkaban?"

They turned around from leaving the Great Hall to find Bertha Jorkins, a Slytherin fifth year, and two cronies sneering at them.

"Shouldn't you be putting your nose in places it shouldn't be?" Lily retorted, narrowing her eyes at the sight of them.

"You know, Evans? I'm surprised you can still show that pinched-up face of yours after killing a student. But then again, she was just competition to beat, right?" she smirked.

"What are you going on about?" James said, looking at her revoltingly.

"Well, Potter. For you I have to explain it all, you see you're always so clueless. That Seeker of yours fancies you. Well used to, since Evans here finished her off."

"You're out of your mind, Jorkins. Mental, you are," said Sirius from beside James who had his jaw clenched and hands balled up in fists.

"Am I? You see, my theory says that you, Evans thought of Raven as competition since she's almost practicing everyday with Potter. And from an inside of mine, I heard that Raven has fancied you Potter, though I don't see why. You're too daft to know that your Seeker went missing during the game. Anyway, Lily here had a hunch that Raven was in love with you so she decided to finish her off -"

"That's your theory? Jorkins, has anyone ever told you that you need to be put in St. Mungo's with a straight jacket? You're just mental," said Marlene from behind Lily. She turned around and marched up the stairs, the others following her lead after giving Bertha a disdainful look.

"I pity you, Evans! Murdering so you can get what you want," she yelled after them, sneering.

"Ugh, I swear if I hear her say one more thing about Raven or Lily I'm going to jinx her to next Tuesday," said Marlene as they entered the common room. She sat on the couch with Sirius beside her and Mary and Remus on the floor in front of them. James sat on an armchair across from Lily's, looking at her worriedly.

"Just ignore her. It's what she wants, the attention," Remus said, crossing his legs and looking out the window to the sky outside.

"Um, excuse me?" a second year entered the common room and headed straight towards them, shuffling his feet nervously.

"Oh hey, McKenzie. Can we help you?" Mary asked, smiling at the boy.

"Actually, I'm here to tell Lily and James to report to Professor Dumbledore's office right away."

Lily looked up at James curiously to find her shocked face mirrored with his.

"Oh and he said something about Fizzing Whizbees being his favorite snack for some odd reason," McKenzie added, fiddling with his thumbs. James and Lily stood up nervously and headed towards the portrait hole, James patting McKenzie on his shoulder and muttering a thank you.

They exited the Gryffindor common room, the group's eyes trailing behind them until the portrait hole slammed shut. They walked in silence towards Dumbledore's study until James' curiosity took him over.

"What do you reckon he wants from us, Dumbledore?"

Lily turned her head to look at him, her mind still absorbed in Bertha Jorkins' assumptions of her fancying James as well as Raven. "Huh?"

"Lily, are you alright? You haven't said a word since Jorkins," he said, looking at her, concerned.

"I'm fine," she said, then added when James gave her a look, "No really, I am."

"Alright, it's just since Raven's murder you've been a bit off, and we're all worried for you," he said giving her a small smile. She nodded and turned her head forwards again, unwilling to give in to that smile. The thought of fancying James still haunted her from sixth year. She has gone from hating him, to liking him, to hating him again, and now fancying him and it all terrified her to the point when she locked her feelings away in a chest she kept deep inside her heart. However, what Jorkins said made her mind wander into places and thoughts she didn't want. The fact that Raven had a liking towards James that was more than Captain/team member like, brought butterflies to her unsettling stomach. But Raven was gone, and it killed Lily to think that she might have had a chance at dating James Potter. Now, Alexia was murdered and Lily has the chance, but that thought just made Lily feel more discomposed and guilty with herself.

"After you, Lily," came James' voice, awakening her out of her thoughts. She shook her head mentally and nodded, walking up the moving staircase, towards Dumbledore's office, James behind her. She knocked twice and a tired voice welcomed them into the circular office filled with quaint, peculiar instruments.

"Good evening Lily, James. How are you?" Dumbledore greeted from behind his desk where he was sitting with Fawks the Phoenix perched on the arm of his chair. He gave them a small smile and resumed stroking Fawks' feathers with his long fingers.

"Fine, Professor. And you?" Lily said before James had the chance to speak. They sat down when Dumbledore waved his hand, gesturing them towards the chairs in front of his desk.

"I'm sure you're pondering why I have called you at this late hour?" he said, inclining his head to them. They nodded vigorously.

"Does it have anything to do with the murder, Professor?" James asked, ignoring Lily's look of warning.

"Yes, it most certainly does. It has come to my intentions that the students are accusing their head girl of being the convict," he said, holding up his hand when James made to interrupt him. He spoke directly to Lily, "I am not accusing you of murder. As a matter of fact, the very opposite. I highly respect you of how you are putting up with this. However, I have not called you to congratulate you on your behavior."

"Then why have you called us, Professor?" Lily asked, sitting on the edge of her seat as well as James.

"I have called you both to make sure that I have chosen faithful heads that I can confined the safety of the students with. Voldemort is becoming more powerful by day with recruiting new members of followers to his group he is now calling Death Eaters. There are students in this very castle willing to murder and shed blood over these walls to become one of them."

"Are you saying that Voldemort is behind this?"

"Yes, I apparently am, James. You see, there are a few students that have been reported they have joined Voldemort's allegiance as well as their parents. He, Voldemort, is targeting the muggleborns first and as you know, Alexia Raven was a muggleborn. My presumption is that they are heading for the weaker students as a warm up and begin the actually phase with the rest. Since you are head boy and girl, you are eligible enough to stop them at anything abnormal."

"What you're saying is, we stop anything we think has to do with the - the plan Voldemort is doing?" Lily said, looking at Dumbledore incredulously who nodded.

"That's precisely what I was saying. I have asked too much of you but you must know that you have my complete faith," he said, giving them a grateful smile.

"Professor, what about Jenkins -"

_"Professor_ Jenkins, James."

"Yes, Professor Jenkins? Haven't the ministry assigned him to protect and teach?"

"Yes they have. But you see, I have a theory that might be or might not be true about him," answered Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling behind his glasses.

"Theory? What theory, Professor?" James said, and Lily shot him a look which he ignored.

"Well, let's just say that it goes with the muggle saying 'Keep your friends close but your enemies closer'," he said, winking at Lily.

"Are you suggesting -"

"Good night James, Lily," Dumbledore cut James off and they stood, saying their good nights while walking out the door.

"James, you shouldn't have talked to him like that," said Lily once they were walking towards the Gryffindor common room.

"I haven't done anything except being curious. Is that a crime?"

"No. But there are other crimes we need to stop."

"Speaking of, what do you think Dumbledore meant when he said that muggle saying?"

"James, if you're saying that Jenkins is an enemy, I don't think that's what he meant."

"It's exactly what I'm saying. He's counting on us to save the school when the Ministry have already sent an Auror. So what if Dumbledore thinks Jenkins is a part of the Death Eater gang and thinks he needs to be on a close watch?"

"I dunno, James. This is all too much to take in, Alexia being murdered, me being accused of the murderer, Jenkins being on my tail twenty-four - seven, and now we're supposed to protect the students. It's too much to take in," Lily whispered, looking up at James helplessly.

"I know, but this is_ war,_ Lily and if we don't stop it, no one will," he said, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulder, pulling her close so her head rested on his shoulder.


	10. The news

**A/N: So, if this is another update then that means I'm not dead and my mother hasn't killed me! And that means that I got good grades and mum was happy about them. But one thing was for sure, I wasn't. I didn't think it was possible to curse at a teacher so much but I proved wrong. Anyway, this chapter might be a bit longer than what I'm used to, probably cause I had it all planned at different parts in the story but decided to put it here and cause I was in a good mood cause I got to meet a few kids from a British school for a project the school put us in. Basically, the school picks students that excel in English literature, have a good social experience etc. It was really fun and I'm rambling. Here is the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: still a brunette with glasses which means I am not, nor do I look like, JK Rowling.**

* * *

"Anything new?" asked Lily once Mary opened the Daily Prophet a tawny owl dropped in front of her.

"The muggle family that went missing hasn't been found yet, but the paper reckons they're on a trip to some far off place."

"Rubbish! It's obviously Voldemort who's up to that bullocks! They're just trying to hush it all up to assume everything is just dandy and rainbows. That's rubbish right the -"

"James, we got it, the message sunk in. Why don't you go and run the Ministry?" Lily interrupted, causing him to scowl and huff. She snatched the paper out of an unsuspected Mary and looked down, flipping through it as her eyes scanned the black print. She stopped at a page in the far end, her face blanched.

"What? What is it?" James asked anxiously, noticing her expression. He looked over her shoulder as she read aloud:

_"Last night at nine fifty-eight, a muggle family was found dead in Cockeworth. Jack Wells and his family of two children and wife were discovered in their home, with the Dark Mark above them. Reasons for this murder is unknown and still being researched..."_ Lily choked, unable to resume the story in front of her. She rested the paper on the table before her cautiously, her tongue in the back of her throat, pushing back a sob.

"Cockeworth? But isn't that wher -" Sirius started but Marlene shot him a warning look from beside him.

"Lily? D-did you know them?" James said, looking at her closely from beside her. She nodded yes, her emerald eyes still on the paper as something in her heart started to slowly break. He rested a hand on the small of her back, rubbing it slowly to show her some sign of comfort. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, relaxing visibly at his touch.

"He was our neighbor, the one who'd always make parties for occasions that weren't even necessary We were best friends, me and April and Jon. I just... can't believe they're dead," Lily said, her voice only just above a whisper. She opened her eyes, surprised to find that no tears were formed as she looked at the wall across from her, the eyes of many upon her.

"So... tomorrow's a Hogsmeade trip. Any dates?" Sirius asked, trying to change course of the depression. He looked around, watching their aspects. Lily was still staring at the wall opposite her while James resumed rubbing her back whilst whispering in her ear. Remus was watching them with a thoughtful look on his face, his eyes darting from James' concerned face to Lily's blank, Marlene seemed at lost for words for once, Peter's face was masked with a look of sadness, his watery eyes slightly more misty than usual (Sirius always thought Peter was quite sensitive, whether it was his problem or someone else's), Mary looked at Sirius with a look on her face he couldn't quite place. He shrugged one shoulder and continued awaiting their response.

Across the room, several tables down, Snape was regarding the group with a revolted expression, his eyes never leaving the redhead occupying the table where James was whispering in her ear. A flash of hatred and betrail filled him, mixing in with the white-hot anger. He was clutching his fork in a grip too hard, Narcissa Black seemed to notice how his knuckles turned from pale to white. She followed his stare towards the Gryffindor table where Marlene seemed to be smacking Sirius upside the head with a book, James and Lily engaged in a conversation of whispers (mostly on James' behalf) while Remus, Mary, and Peter watched them.

"I know, disgusting isn't it? I wouldn't be surprised if they throw themselves off the Astronomy Tower by the end of the year. It's not even the beginning and Evans is already weeping," she said, addressing Snape whose anger only flared and boiled. He nodded and looked away from the sight, looking down to his eggs, but he lost his appetite a while ago.

"Are we going to do the plan or what?" he asked, abandoning his food as he looked at Narcissa's left shoulder, unwilling to make eye contact.

"Yes, we're just waiting for orders. It might happen in a day or two in the least."

Snape nodded again and turned back to staring at his plate, promising himself not to look up and ogle as _James sodding Potter_ talked to _Lily bloody Evans._

* * *

"Lily?"

"Hm?"

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"You seem a bit distant is all."

"I'm fine. Just dandy."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, positive."

"It's just that we passed two Hufflepuff's snogging and you didn't stop them," said James, pointing down a corridor where a couple just disappeared inside a classroom.

"Well, why didn't you stop them?" Lily snapped, looking ahead of her while resuming her walk without a backwards glance to where James pointed.

"Well, because you sorta enjoy breaking up snogging couples and take glory in deducting their house points."

"I don't enjoy seeing students exchange saliva " Lily admitted, somewhat true. Doing rounds with James was different than doing them with Remus or another prefect. Everytime she was with him, she'd wish it was them that got caught in a dark corridor, living the thrill of trying to sneak out at night. It always angered her for reasons she tried to deny, making her want to punch a wall in fury and jealousy.

"That makes sense, but it still doesn't explain why you've avoided social contact," said James, looking down at her. "Does it have anything to do with this morning?"

"Define what you mean by 'this morning', what did I do this morning?" said Lily, circling around the question.

"Lily, stop playing games. Are you still upset about what was in the paper?"

"So what if I am? It won't change that they're _dead_ and close to my family as well, will it?" she demanded, scowling as they continued to walk down the dimly lit corridors.

"No, it won't change. But the way you choose to accept it might," said James, making Lily furrow her eyebrows in curiosity.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you can choose to ignore it and move on, or choose to take it as a threat and live your life in fear and depression, or you can take it in anger and choose to do something about it to get revenge. So you fight back," his expression remained as blank as ever when he looked down at Lily.

"So what you're saying is... I choose what I want to do and then act upon it?"

"Yeah, in other words I guess."

"...That's deep. I never thought of it in that way," Lily said after a moment of silence.

"Well, I can be wise when I choose to but don't change the subject. Are you still upset about your neighbor's death?"

"I am. But it's more that I'm relieved and almost _happy_ that it wasn't my family. I guess I'm more angry at myself than anything, really. Don't get me wrong, I was - and am - depressed that my childhood friends got killed by _my_ lot and on _my_ account -"

"Why in the name of Merlin's soggy left shoe is it on your account, Evans? As I recall, you're not a Death Eater," interrupted James, scowling instead of Lily this time.

"Yes, I'm not. But James, think for once -"

"I do think!"

"Yes, of course. But why would _wizard_ murderers be in a _muggle_ town where I live in?"

"So? It's like what Dumbledore said, Lily! They're starting off small then moving to bigger plans. This doesn't mean it's your fault specifically If you ask me, I think it's the Ministry's fault, what with them trying to cover it all up and tell us that everything is just unicorns and rainbows and flowers. They're not taking the precautions that need to be taken, they're not doing what's need to be done to protect the wizards and witches out there that are either incapable of fighting themselves or whom Voldemort is trying to murder or recruit. Even the muggles need to be protected 'cause with a guy like that, us humans can be endangered. It has absobloodylutely nothing to do with you so don't put the blame on yourself."

Lily stayed silent, pondering what James said. It was true, the Ministry not taking things into hand, the protections that weren't up, the muggles becoming endangered. It just needed time to sink in. As Lily looked up at James, a determined aspect shown across his face, she could just picture him fighting and protecting in the upcoming war. To Lily, James looked like an Auror at birth and it was clear that no matter what, she'd be fighting beside him all the way.

So when Lily took his hand in her's, looking up at him with the same aspect, a flash of hope surged through both. Because they were going to get through the war, if not together then not at all.

* * *

Remus looked from Mary to Marlene to Sirius to Peter as they all sat in front of the fireplace in the deserted common room, everyone having gone to bed at the late hour on a school night. They sat, cross-legged and staring at each other, unsure of what to say or do. Sirius coughed several times, looking around. Marlene narrowed her eyes at the fire, staring at it deeply as if it held all the answers to her questions. Mary was quite, watching them all with a look that seemed as if she was afraid they might do something extreme to get revenge. Peter was sitting with his hands clasped in his lap, waiting for someone to ease the tension.

"This is ridiculous. We need to do something," said Marlene, sighing. Her eyes were still on the fire, watching its essence sizzle and burn on the wood.

"We're just sitting here while the rest risk themselves for us. It's been - what - two days? And there's been at least five killings that we know of and possibly more," counted Sirius, his face morbid.

"Yeah. Who knows what will happen next? It could be our families and we wouldn't know," Mary interjected, fiddling with her thumbs.

"Right. That's why we need to fight back instead of sitting here staring at one another. Next year, if we don't stop this, it could be us whose names are in the Prophet and _our_ families reading it," said Marlene. "But if one thing in this world is true, I'm not going down without a fight." She slammed her fist in her hand, looking around at the rest as if daring them to object.

"That's why we need to plan and get revenge. Lily's neighbors were murdered last night, Raven got killed as well two days ago and we know it has something to do with the Slytherins -"

"No, Sirius, we don't know for sure. What if the Slytherins didn't have anything to do with it -"

"Moony, stop being such a dunce. Who else is going to kill innocent students?"

"Padfoot, just because you have a hunch that it has something to do with the Slytherins doesn't mean it's true. The only thing that we know about Alexia is that she's a Gryffindor muggle-born on the Quidditch team."

"Exactly! You said it yourself, she's a muggle-born. And the Slytherins have this prejudice thing against them," Sirius said, all but shouting.

"That is the only thing we know. But what if it wasn't the Slytherins? What if her blood status had nothing to do with her death?" Remus demanded, his voice calm but not peaceful, almost threatening. The others watched them as if they were a tennis ball match, from Remus to Sirius.

"It could and couldn't be true, but think about the biggest threat here inside these walls. Who are the students we know that are going to join that sodding Voldemort after school - if they haven't already?" Remus opened his mouth to retort but Marlene cut him off, shooting him a look.

"Alright, but first we need proof. We can't just say that the Slytherins have already joined his followers, so we need a plan," she said, looking at them all with her jaw set.

"A plan to prove the Slytherins are Death Eaters?" Mary asked, looking at her curiously. She nodded yes and Sirius' eyes lit up.

"You know, we haven't done a prank in a while. The last was a bit last year and we need something new. Something that would get them to spill the truth."

"So, a prank that would get them to tell the truth? Is that even possible?"

"Marly-bear honey, everything is possible if you're a Marauder," winked Sirius and Remus scowled at him.

"You guys said something about truth right?" Mary asked and they nodded. A mischievous smirk spread across her face that rarely appeared as she said, "isn't there a truth potion?"

"Yeah, Verasusium or something of that sort," said Peter.

"Veritaserum, Pete. Mary are you saying -"

"We can get them to spill the truth with Veritaserum!" Peter interrupted Marlene, looking proud of himself.

"But how will we put it in a prank?" Marlene said, looking at Remus and Sirius doubtingly but the latter just winked.

"I think I have an idea," he muttered, a look of rascality spreading across his face.


	11. Lessons and a misshapen prank

**A/N: LONGEST CHAPTER I'VE EVER WRITTEN! Gosh, I feel so proud of myself. This would have been up sooner if I wasn't caught up with watching My Little Pony (yes I'm a brony and proud. :D ) and listening to Nickelback and obsessing over Jon Cozart. *sigh* _Jon Cozart..._**

**Anyway, I've been browsing FanFiction the other day and I saw a FanFic with only 6 reviews for 26 chapters, so I feel grateful that I have you guys reviewing. It made me feel really selfish and ugly on the inside when I know there are people out there that write so much better than me but don't get the credit they deserve, SO I THANK ALL OF YOU!**

**Again, REALLY LONG CHAPTER THAT MIGHT BORE YOUR EXISTANCE SO BEWARE!**

* * *

"Lily, wake up!"

"Mmmmmmm..."

"Lily, wakey-wakey!"

"Ughhhhh..."

"That's not how someone wakes a student for school, Mary. This is how: EVANS, WAKE UP!"

"Mmmmmm..."

"It's not working."

"Let's try something different. How about... Lily! Potter is waiting downstairs! You don't want to skive off your date now, do you?"

"Wait... what?"

"Just play along, Mary."

"Oh, alright. But where did she go?" Mary looked around, expecting Lily to be in her bed but it was empty with crumpled sheets. Marlene narrowed her eyes and searched the Lily Evans-free dormitory but to no avail. Just two minutes ago, Lily had her face buried underneath her pillow, not wanting to get up and start the day. Now, however, her four-poster was empty and Lily was nowhere to be found.

They heard the flush of a toilet from the bathroom across them and looked up, expecting her to come out. Marlene stood up from searching underneath the bed and Mary rolled her eyes, saying, "Mar, why would Lily be underneath her bed?"

"You never know. This is Lily Evans we are talking about. The one who failed Divination but got an 'O' in History of Magic? The one who hates James Potter but loves him? The one wh -"

"I do not love James Potter," came the voice of Lily from inside the bathroom. They both snickered.

"Then why do you mutter his name when you sleep? Nightmares or dreams about him?" Marlene said, snorting with a smug look on her face.

The bathroom door flew open, banging on the wall beside it with a thud, revealing Lily in a state of anger yet humiliation. Her red hair was brushed on one side, leaving it layered in curls, and tangled on the other, making it look as if a niffler was living in it. Her eyes were bloodshot from sleep, watching them menacingly with a brush in hand, gripping it and flexing her fingers around it in a threatening method. Mary and Marlene eyed her before trying to stiffle their laughter by covering their mouths with their hands.

"I do not mutter Potter's name whilst sleeping," Lily said, her voice low and menatory.

"Potter now is it?"

She glared at Marlene before collecting herself and passing her to get to her trunk, trying to tame her hair on the way.

"You know, I'm surprised you're the one to talk. Have you told Sirius that you love him?" she said, looking up from her search of finding her robes. Lily watched as Marlene's smirk slowly dropped into a grimace while Mary attempted to stop her giggles in a futile attempt.

"I don't love Black."

"Black now is it?" Lily mocked, putting on her robes as Mary gave up and let the laughter slip off her tongue. Marlene growled, scowling at Mary. "I'm sure he won't be so blisful once he hears."

"No, I'm sure he won't mind. He's used to it now, the rejections and a one-sided relationship. Imagine, the only girl ever to make him feel love... friend-zoned him. Poor Sirius," Mary said, tisking next to Marlene who blushed a deep red.

"The only girl he fell for... friend-zoned him," said Lily, a smirk playing on her lips as she wrapped her cloak around her shoulders, blocking the chilly autumn air.

"The only girl he loves... friend-zoned him," continued Mary as she walked over to the door with Lily, shooting her a wink, with Marlene behind them, steam pouring out of her ears.

"The only girl he -"

"Alright! Sod off will you! It was just a relationship that didn't work out. We both wanted different things and it ended. It was for the best so stop giving me that - that 'only girl' thing. I've heard it before, I don't need to hear it again," Marlene snapped, cutting Lily off as they walked down the dormitory stairs that led to the common room.

"You mean, it was a romantic relationship for about two weeks -"

"And now it's a friends with benefits thing, isn't it?" Lily finished for Mary, ignoring Marlene's look of daggers.

"Hark who's talking! What about you and Potter? Snogging in broom cupboards but not saying anything to your _friends,"_ she said, walking in step with them.

"For the last time, we are _not_ snogging in broom cupboards. Although, I can say that you have been doing it with Sirius because it's a 'friends with benefits' relationship, isn't it?"

"It was only a few times at the beginning of the year, so what? At least I don't try to deny it."

They entered the Great Hall, sitting in their usual spot at the middle of the Gryffindor table where a spot of messy black hair and shaggy brown greeted them. They sat down, muttering a good morning.

"Why the long faces?" James asked from his seat across Lily where she sat, playing with her oatmeal.

"Nothing. They're just not in the early morning mood yet. Give them some time," responded Mary, shooting him a smile.

"Where's the rest of your crew? Your gang of mischief?" Marlene wanted to know, looking up from beside Lily.

"Pads is trying to wake Wormy up, but the attempt is futile. Pete isn't one to wake up in the morning so they might be a bit late for Jenkins," he said, taking a bite out of his toast.

"Did you tell him?"

"No, not yet."

"Well, when will you?"

"Sirius was thinking _after_ we do it."

"And you're really going to listen to Sirius, the daft blighter?"

"What are you two whispering about over there?" Lily narrowed her eyes at Remus and Mary where they sat across from her, whispering cautiously to each other. They looked up after exchanging a look.

"Nothing," they said in unison attracting curious looks. James looked at them with his brow furrowed, pondering what they were hiding when Sirius appeared and sat next to him on the bench.

"I'm beginning to underestimate Pete here. That rat can kick," he said, rubbing a hand over his eye before taking a sip of pumpkin juice. They watched him warily as Peter dropped himself across from Sirius, the latter glaring at him.

"M-m-morning," Peter yawned.

"Did you tell her?"

"No, I was thinking after we do it. You know how she gets."

"Yeah, she'll get all enraged and murder us in our sleep if she found out we're doing it."

"Too right. But when are we doing it?"

"After classes. We'll cut dinner short and just head straight from there -"

"Oi! What's up with the whispering?!" came James' voice, interrupting Marlene and Sirius' discussion. They both looked at him before sitting straight in their seats again, James glaring at Sirius and Lily watching Marlene spectically.

"Nothing, mate. Can't two love birds talk to each other?"

"Black, we're not love birds. We aren't even together!" Marlene said crossly, reaching out to slap him across the forehead.

"So? Jamesie boy and Lily-bean aren't together and they're love birds," said Sirius, rubbing his temple. Remus rolled his eyes as did Lily and Mary, Marlene and Peter snorted, trying to tame their laughter, and James just sighed exasperatedly, knowing fully well that explaining 'just friends' was to no avail.

"So, are we doing it tonight or what?" Peter asked, spreading jam over his toast. Mary and Remus narrowed their eyes, Marlene slapped him upside the head, and Sirius repeatedly shook his head.

"Doing what tonight?" James asked curiously, looking at their expressions.

"Oh they didn't -" Peter started but Marlene clamped a hand over his mouth from beside him, shooting him a warning look.

"Didn't what?" Lily asked, turning her head to look at him.

"Didn't - didn't... tell you about our search for a new Seeker," Sirius defended, sporting an innocent look.

"Yeah. We wanted to make it a surprise but Pettigrew here ruined it," said Marlene, backing Sirius' lie as she removed her hand from covering Peter's mouth who nodded.

"You know, I didn't realize we were a member short..." James admitted looking guilty as they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, we know. We thought with you being head boy and your delusive attempts at cheering Lily up, you needed a break. So we're going to hold Quidditch tryouts for Seekers today -"

"After dinner," Sirius finished Mary's sentence, shooting her a pointed look.

"Great! So we can watch," said James, an impish smile on his face as he looked at Lily who nodded.

"No!" they yelled at once, attracting the students attention around them. Lily and James shared a look before looking around at them.

"What we mean is, there is no need. We have loads of homework to do so you can head on to the library after dinner," said Remus, smiling an angelic smile.

"How come I wasn't in on this?" Lily asked, noticing something dubios in their actions.

"Because -" Peter and Sirius started but Marlene cut them off.

"Because we thought that you were too groggy as well. What with your neighbors, Jenkins, Raven. It's all piling on top of you and we thought that you need a break from it all. And Quidditch is just going to remind you about Raven, and she's going to remind you about Jenkins, who's going to remind you of the Ministry, which will remind you about their doubtful attempts of saving muggles and muggle-borns which will remind you about your neighbors. So," she said, pausing for a nervous laugh that escaped her lungs. "There's no need to come. And you James should stick with you and perk you up with some snogging in the library."

"It's a good thing the library has a view of the Pitch. I wanna know who's on my team," said James, drinking some pumpkin juice. They gasped, looking at each other helplessly.

"But Prongs! I don't think you can see the Pitch in this weather!" Peter said dramatically, pointing to the ceiling. They looked up to be greeted by the sun glaring at them in the blue sky.

"Um, Wormtail, the weather is _sunny_," he said, raising his eyebrows while Sirius and Marlene smacked their foreheads with their palms. Remus and Mary rolled their eyes as Peter blushed and looked down.

"Sunny, but with a chance of rain," came Sirius to his defense.

"Besides, we're not doing tryouts outside. It'll be too dark when we start so we're just going to look at your Quidditch records - if you don't mind - and track down the Seeker that came in second," Remus said and they all nodded.

"Alright, but we should head on to class. We have Jenkins' first lesson today and I really don't want to skive that off," Lily said, standing up with the rest following her lead, shouldering their bags and walking out the Great Hall behind the other students.

Sirius breathed in a sigh of relief as well as Marlene from where they were walking behind the rest.

"That was close," he said, pushing his black locks out of his eyes.

Marlene nodded. "Yeah, we shouldn't have let Peter in on it," she said, eyeing Peter's small sillouhette in front of her.

"We're still up for it at dinner, right?"

"Mhm. I can't believe they bought that rubbish."

"Me neither. But hey, if it means that they'll get some alone time and actually snog, why should I stop it?" Sirius shrugged and Marlene punched him in the shoulder, a smile tugging at her lips.

"I don't know how I agreed to go out with you two years last. All you think about is sexual intercourse and dirty stuff along those lines," she said, shuddering.

"Because you fancied me, McKinnon. Remember? You came up to me in fifth year and confessed your love to me," he said, smirking.

"That's such a lie! You're the one who asked me out as a dare and I agreed being the bold Gryffindor."

Sirius was about to retort but James cut him off, falling in step beside him. He swung an arm around his shoulder, faking a smile.

"You didn't really think I believed that bullocks you came up with, did you?" he said, leading him away from the group as they walked slowly. Marlene looked nervously behind her shoulder at them but Sirius waved her off.

"Whatever do you mean, Prongsie?" he asked innocently, furrowing his brow.

"You five are up to something and it certainly isn't Quidditch. But I'll play along, cause I reckon you're a Marauder and my brother, so you'll tell me. Won't you?"

"We already did tell you," he said, slipping away from James' grip. "We're searching for a Seeker, whether you choose to believe it or not."

"Well I don't."

"That's your problem, not mine." And with that, Sirius ran up to the rest, walking with them with his arm around Marlene's shoulder as she tried to push him off.

"Come in," said a dull voice from inside the classroom a few minutes later. The students gathered around the door entered the room that was Whilema Famble's but now currently used by Tim Jenkins, where he stood behind his desk in front of the classroom, watching the students enter with wracking nerves.

"That's a sight we don't want to see in the middle of the night," whispered Sirius as he sat down on one of the desks in the back, Peter beside him. Remus rolled his eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time that day and sat in front of him, James beside him and Mary and Lily in front of them, Marlene having sat with Alice Prewett, one of the girls who shared their dormitory.

"Sit down _quietly_," said Jenkins in the same blunt tone, giving a pointed look to Sirius who sniggered. "I'm Professor Jenkins, your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I'm also an Auror that was sent by the Ministry to protect you from any harm that can be done. I will repeat your Headmaster's own words and say if you see or hear anything that might involve the culprit of this murder, please inform me so the Ministry can help. If the murderer is caught, Professor Famble will return. Therefore, if you cooperate then so will I."

"What are we, first years?" whispered Sirius to Peter who snorted. Jenkins turned from looking at the students in silence to watch Sirius who gazed back, a smile on his lips with his hands clasped in front of him.

"Today, we will be learning about the three Unforgivable Curses as the Ministry instructed," Jenkins continued, eyeing him before walking in front of the desk. He took out his wand, pointing it to the blackboard where script writing appeared in white chalk. "The three Unforgivable curses. Who can give me the first one?"

No hands were in the air, either from fear or his voice still echoed through their heads as Jenkins raised his eyebrows. Lily looked around, surprised that even the Slytherins, who shared the class, didn't know what the Unforgivable Curses were, or perhaps they didn't want to arouse suspicion. Slowly, Lily raised her hand, her chin up proudly.

"Ms. Evans?" Jenkins said, walking between the rows of desks. He looked at Lily, not one hint of surprise in his hazel eyes.

"The Imperius Curse, Professor," she said, looking at him as he waved his wand and the blackboard wrote in the same writing '1. The Imperius Curse'.

"And who can tell me the effects of it?" he said, turning on his heel from the front of the room to look at them all, twirling his wand in his hand. The students looked at each other before turning to him, two hands slightly raised.

"Mr. -?"

"Potter, Sir. I'm not answering your question, I was wondering why you're teaching them to us when we already took them in sixth year," said James, his eyes watching Jenkins' perspective closely.

Jenkins narrowed his eyes at the mention of James' surname and said, "You're Charlus' son, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." James nodded proudly.

"Just like your father, inquisitorial," Jenkins snapped, practically spitting out the adjective. James narrowed his eyes and frowned, looking at him with a look of mixed expressions. "Always prying into others business for no apparent reason. I am teaching you these curses so you can expect them and know what they are and how to counter them. Now, you can tell me what the Imperius Curse does or you can sit quietly."

"My father wasn't - isn't - _i__nquisitorial._ He's an Auror and he's just doing his job -"

"Poorly."

James made an attempt to stand but Remus pulled him back down by tugging on the sleeve of his robes. The students around them whispered, some smirking (more on the Slytherin's side) some glancing worriedly from James to Jenkins who stood in front of the class, his face blank. Lily turned around to look at James, shooting him a look while Sirius behind him had his fists in balls, glaring at Jenkins.

"Now, who will tell me about the Imperius Curse unless Mr. Potter has something to add that would land him in detention?"

* * *

The day passed, dragging along a sheet of rain while the students made their way to dinner, passing by windows that ablaze with lightning every now and then along with the occasional rumble of thunder after it, reflecting a certain seventh year's mood.

"I'm going to murder him," said James for the fifteenth time that day as they sat down at the table for dinner. He glared at Jenkins who was engaged in a conversation with Professor Sprout beside him as the rest rolled their eyes.

"How many times have you said that?" Lily responded beside him, sighing tiredly as she bit into her steak.

"We know, James. We've heard," said Marlene exasperated from where she was sitting across from him.

"Did I tell you it's going to be slow and painful?"

"Yes."

"And I don't care about the consequences?"

"Yes."

"And that -"

"You'll show him what the Cruciatus Curse really feels like? We know," Remus finished for him.

"Padfoot, back me up here! He's your dad too, you know!" James said, looking at Sirius beside him who just nodded and continued talking to Marlene in whispers.

"You know, forget about Jenkins. Something is up between those two," Lily whispered uneasily from James' other side to him.

"I know, he won't tell me what it is though. Said it's just that Quidditch rubbish they came up with this morning," he said, narrowing his eyes at the pair who leaned over the table to whisper to each other.

"I'm not talking about that, you daft git. I'm talking about the tensions between them. Last year, they couldn't stand talking to each other after Marlene friend-zoned him. Now, don't you think they're... in a relationship but not in a relationship?" Lily asked nervously after smacking his arm.

"Is that even possible?" he said but then added once Lily gave him a look, "alright, maybe. It's sort of an on-off affinity, yeah? Sort of like the friends for benefits method, right?"

"I guess..." Lily shrugged.

"Look who's whispering now," smirked Peter from across them. They rolled their eyes, unable to stop the smile forming on their lips.

Sirius coughed several times before standing up, Marlene following suit.

"Well, we're going to start tryout now. Coming Wormtail? Moony? Mary?" he said, swinging his leg over the bench.

"We'll be right there," Remus replied, standing up. Lily looked at them curiously, her eyes narrowed and brow furrowed as she watched them walk away after Sirius called, "Don't forget to tell us about that snog!"

James chuckled and turned to Lily. "Shall we get started?" he said, batting his eyelashes but Lily just laughed and swatted his arm, turning back to her food.

"Now, Marlene and Peter guard the door while I get the potion. Remus and Mary try to stall Slughorn when he comes by standing at the entrance hall and wait till he comes - if he comes. When he does, talk loudly so Marlene can hear and send a message to me, alright?" Sirius demanded as they walked down the dungeons. They nodded but Remus had different ideas.

"Are you sure you should be the one getting the potion?" he said uneasily.

"I'll slip right in, get the potion and smile out before you have the chance to say 'incoming'," he said confidently.

"Remember, it's a colorless, odorless potion, alright? He might have it in a cauldron or in the drawers in a small vial or bottle, but look quickly," said Mary and he nodded vigorously.

They reached Slughorn's office and parted ways, Remus and Mary going back up and Marlene and Peter standing by the door whilst Sirius opened the door and entered the office cautiously. He walked between the tables, towards Slughorn's desk and began opening various drawers, searching for a tiny vile as quickly as possible when he heard a collective gasp. He looked up to find Marlene poking her head through the door and ushering him to hurry up and pick up the pace. Panicking slightly, he looked around the room, heading towards the shelves where a tiny bottle was stored behind a few potions. Releasing a sigh of relief, Sirius grabbed it and took out the two cakes he hid inside his robes, pouring a few drops of the potion on the delicasees. He placed the bottle in his robes with the two cakes and walked out, brushing the crumbs off his hands.

"Did you get it?" Marlene asked, looking anxiously at him. He held up the bottle, wearing a smirk as she sighed. Sirius led the way up the stairs to the entrance hall where Remus and Mary stood, chatting with Slughorn who nodded and tried to side-step them. However, they blocked him, talking quickly and earnestly.

"Ah! Professor, we were just looking for you!" Sirius lied through a charming smile from behind Remus and Mary. Slughorn looked over their shoulders, watching Sirius approach him.

"Mr. Black. To what do I owe this... honor?" he said uncertainly. Knowing the Marauders, Slughorn has no trust in them as he knows fully well if you underestimate their abilities, a severe prank shall be pulled.

"Well, you see Professor, Mary and Remus are having trouble with the Potions essay and thought they'd stop by and ask for help. They didn't want to bother Lily because she has rounds tonight and she's a bit... feisty. Anyway, Remmy here didn't know if you were down in your office or not, we didn't see you at dinner so we - me, McKinnon, and Pete - decided to find out while those two wait up here for when you appeared. And here we are," Sirius said easily. They all gazed at him in surprise, wondering how he came up with all that in only two minutes notice. But then again, he was a Marauder.

"Well, come along then. Do you want to stay up here while we get ambushed by these students?" Slughorn said, the first to wake from the reverie. He waved his beefy hand to Remus and Mary to follow him by walking down the dungeons.

"Merlin, how did you come up with all that?" Marlene said in awe as they walked in the entrance hall, up the staircases.

"Easy, improvise." He shrugged. They raced up the stairs, two at a time, eager to put the plan in action. Once they reached the seventh floor, the password to the portrait of the Fat Lady was said. They walked inside, climbing the boys dormitory staircases.

"Now, where's the cloak? God dammit, we need the cloak!" said Sirius, searching their dormitory for James' Invisibility cloak once they walked in.

Marlene sighed and said dully,_ "Accio Cloak!"_ with her wand aloft. Soaring through the air from underneath a pile of clothes on James' bed, the cloak materialized in Marlene's hand as she tapped her foot, tisking.

"Well, that's an easier way," Sirius shrugged and took the cloak away from her, walking down the stairs. "Wormy, you stay here and ask for that Quidditch list so it won't look so fishy when Prongs appears, yeah?" he said, pointing towards the couch in the common room. Peter nodded and sat down, somewhat disappointed to not take part in the prank, or since there is almost no pranking, plan.

"That was a bit harsh, you know," Marlene said once they were out of the common room, ignoring the Fat Lady's crying of how they should have stayed inside.

"No, I don't know. What was harsh?" Sirius asked, wrapping the cloak around their shoulders as they walked down the staircase, dodging several students along the way.

"Asking Peter to stay. I know it has nothing to do with fishy-ness or whatever."

"It does too! Prongs is already suspicious cause of our behavior this morning," Sirius responded, walking into the emptying Great Hall and towards the Slytherin table, where a various amount of students sat, still eating the small portions of food.

"I don't care, it as still quite sad, watching him sit there, waiting for James to appear, which is highly unlikely, considering he's with Lily and when he's with her he just looses track of time and place and who knows whether they're snogging or not?"

"McKinnon, shut it. Let's just do this so we don't have to wait so long," Sirius said, taking the cakes out of his robes. He looked down the table, noticing the Slytherin Beaters, Crabbe and Goyle, and a plump first year that had his plate piled with pudding. They looked towards the staff table, finding only Professor McGonagall and Flitwick, both in a deep conversation to notice anything suspicious. They placed the cakes on the end of the Slytherin table, near Crabbe and Goyle but not near enough to make them realize they just appeared there. Running quickly out the Great Hall, Sirius waited behind the wall, perking his head around it to see if they ate it or not.

"Did they stuff their faces with it yet?" Marlene asked from beside him, sounding disgusted.

"No, but the other chap will." Sirius flicked his wand, shooting a stinging hex to the boy's hand where he was reaching for one of the cakes they placed. He shrieked in agony and jumped from his seat, clutching his hand and running out the double doors, weeping. Sirius chuckled, even Marlene couldn't deny it wasn't a funny sight.

"Aha, now they are," he said, watching as Crabbe and Goyle reached for the cakes. They smirked at each other and took a bite, enjoying it's taste while standing up, a few deserts in hand. They began walking out the double doors, savoring the spiky taste.

"This us our cue, grab them." And Sirius sprinted towards them, Marlene behind him. He grabbed the heavier one, Crabbe, by the collar of his robes while Marlene took Goyle by the arm, forcing them inside a broom cupboard on the first floor, closing the door behind them.

"Damn, how much do either of you weigh?" said Sirius, resting his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths as he took the cloak off. Marlene glared at him before turning to the Slytherins who lay limp on the floor.

"Now. Do you know who I am?"

"You're Marlene McKinnon, the blood traitor," Goyle said, sounding dazed.

"Take it back," whispered Sirius threateningly. Marlene shook her head, pushing Sirius' wand down.

"They're not in their right minds. Do you know who he is?" she asked pointing to Sirius who growled.

"Sirius Black who is disowned by Walburga Black for being a blood traitor," answered Crabbe from the floor.

"Good, so far this is working. Now, I'll ask you once. Do you know who killed Alexia Raven?" Marlene asked firmly, sitting down on an upside down bucket.

"Narcissa Black," Goyle said, sitting up slowly.

Marlene looked at Sirius curiously, her eyes open wide in the dark broom closet.

"Narcissa Black," muttered Carbbe in a sigh.

"Narcissa Black? She killed her?"

"Narcissa is too nice to murder anyone. She's the most prettiest, most wisest, most loveliest, most -"

"Sirius, let me see the potion," said Marlene, cutting Crabbe off and holding out her hand to Sirius who looked down at it curiously.

"Why?"

"I just want to see it," she said impatiently, eyeing Crabbe and Goyle who sighed in admiration of Narcissa Black.

Sirius pulled out the tiny vial as Marlene raised her wand to spread light over it so she can read its label, ignoring Sirius' tickling breath on her neck and Crabbe and Goyle's mutters.

"Sirius! This is Amortentia!"


	12. Various repelling things

**A/N: My apologies for the wait, I was fangirling over Jon Cozart cause he is updating a new video this week and I was busy watching A Young Doctor's Notebook with Dan Rad. That show is tremendously funny, you should all watch it. Updates will be limited now. I'm going to update every Thursday and maybe in between if there's time to write. So on with the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Still not a billionaire...**

* * *

_"Sirius, let me see the potion," said Marlene, cutting Crabbe off and holding out her hand to Sirius who looked down at it curiously._

_"Why?"_

_"I just want to see it," she said impatiently, eyeing Crabbe and Goyle who sighed in admiration of Narcissa Black._

_Sirius pulled out the tiny vial as Marlene raised her wand to spread light over it so she can read its label, ignoring Sirius' tickling breath on her neck and Crabbe and Goyle's mutters._

_"Sirius! This is Amortentia!"_

Meanwhile in the library...

"James, stop that!" Lily scolded as she watched him expectorate tiny balls of parchment to a table nearest them.

"But Lily," he whined. "I'm _bored_!"

"We're supposed to be _studying_, James. And we must do these timetables for McGonagall or she'll be at our heads," she reasoned, pushing down the rolled up piece of parchment he made to spit out the paper balls as he pressed it to his lips.

James huffed and looked at Lily, his eyes wide with his lower lip pouting. Lily shook her head, forcing the corners of her lips down as they threatened to form into a smile.

"Please...?" he asked, sullen. Just when Lily was about to respond, a very high-pitched voice interrupted her, making her look up to see the intruder.

"James?" asked the owner of said voice. James looked up, confused, to find a seventh year Hufflepuff with dark brown hair, nearly black, and dull grey eyes gazing at him.

"Yeah, Trugen?" he replied, looking at her curiously. The girl, Chloë Trugen she was called by, was known along over the school far and wide for her infamous relationships with half of the boys in her year (and a few younger). She'd flirtatiously walk up to a boy and they'd end up in his bed by the end of the night. Among girls, she was a man-stealing slut. Among boys, she was a very fit bird mostly known for her tanned legs.

"I - um - I'm having a bit of trouble in this Transfiguration assignment McGonagall put us in, and you're the best in our year. Seeing as you're here and so am I, do you mind taking a look at my work? I want to at least get an 'A' in N.E.W.T's and that's not happening until I excel this project," she said, brushing her hair behind her ear as she gazed at him hopefully.

James looked at Lily, who was resuming writing her essay without a glance at them, before turning back to her. "I don't see why not. Lily, do you mind if Trugen joins us?" he asked, pointing to the girl who was twirling her hair between her fingers. Lily shook her head, scribbling furiously at the parchment.

"Brilliant! I'll be right back, just to go and get my books and -" she stopped mid sentence realizing she was rambling. She hurried off, behind the stacks of books and bookshelves.

James turned to look at Lily whose hand was gripping furiously at her quill. Her eyes darted between the parchment and the text-book, then up at James and towards the bookshelves where Chloë disappeared through. "Lily? Are you alright?" he asked softly, noticing her attitude. Just when Lily was about to respond, she got cut off by Chloë (again) as she sat beside James across from her, smiling at him (again).

"Sorry for the wait, couldn't find my work. Odd, isn't it?" she asked, laughing a very acute-pitched laugh. Lily mumbled something distinctive, making them look up at her. She just shrugged.

"Let's see what you have here." James took the roll of parchment Chloe had laid in front of her, looking down at his with his nose twitching. "Well, it's - um - it's quite - relevant to the lesson?" he stated, more like a question. Lily resisted the urge to bark out a laugh.

"Yeah, I'm having some struggles at the moment with it. But I'm sure once you give it a look," she said and Lily snorted, "it's going to turn out perfect."

"It might just need more than a look," James said, taking his quill in hand as he scribbled and crossed a few things here and there. Lily watched Chloë watch him work, her chair shuffled a bit closer to him so there as barely an inch between them. She watched as Chloë laughed at something James commented, though she couldn't hear the comment, for her own boiling blood was rushing through her ears, blocking out any sounds.

"And there you have it," said James' soft, sweet voice, interrupting Lily of her thoughts and chances of murdering Trugen. She mentally shook her head, trying to rid herself from them. Chloë beamed and took the work he held out to her, flashing him a flirtatious smile.

"Thanks James. I knew you'd fix the rubbish I've made. Transfiguration really isn't my thing," she said, standing while gathering her books, making sure to bend her back for a few moments longer than intended.

"Yeah, I could tell from that essay," he said, winking at Lily who plastered on a fake grin. Chloë laughed her high laugh again.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts is more my draft," she said, shifting her books to brush her hair over her shoulder.

"With, it's a first year's draft with what he teaches," said Lily and James nodded.

"He's cruel, that Jenkins. I heard about what he said to you today, it's flying everywhere, the news. Is it true he accused your dad of doing his job poorly?"

"More or less the truth, why do you ask?" James asked, feeling slightly annoyed at the moment.

"Just a question I suppose. It's a different perspective, really. He was actually quite nice to us the other day," Chloë said, shrugging.

"You shouldn't judge people from the first meeting," chided Lily and she looked at her, a smile on her face. Her eyes decieved her, however, normal grey shooting daggers at her.

"Hogsmeade coming up this weekend."

She did not just ask that. Of course it's a Hogsmeade trip, you daft sighted bimbo, it's nearly Halloween, thought Lily, trying to avert her eyes away from Chloë who was watching James skeptically.

"Yeah, I guess so." James rubbed the back of his neck self consciously, looking at Lily who tried to cool her cheeks by casually leaning her elbows on the table, pressing her hands to her face.

"Are you perhaps going with anyone? I'm not, not yet though," Chloë said, emphasising the 'yet'.

"No, not really. Just the Marauders with a few other friends," replied James, smirking at Lily who forced a smile back.

"Maybe we could go together then? Seeing as you don't have anyone to go with, I don't have anyone to go with? And maybe you can give me a few pointers on that Transfiguration because you're just really good and I don't want to fail," she laughed again, though Lily couldn't help wondering what was funny. James rolled his eyes before turning back to Chloë who was shuffling from foot to foot.

"Actually, I didn't think you heard me correctly, Trugen. I'm hanging with the Marauders, you know some male time. You can tag along if you want, you know if you enjoy talking about Quidditch and kipping," he said, searching her face for any sense of lost hope.

However, he didn't expect her to say "That sounds like fun! I'll meet you in the entrance hall at two."

Lily and James gaped as they watched her bob away after giving him a lingering kiss on the cheek. "Lovely. I should have included things like murder and Voldemort and war," he said, turning to Lily as he wiped his cheek with his sleeve.

Lily grunted, slamming her book close as she pulled another book in front of her.

"Something wrong over there?"

"Nope, not in the slightest. Why would you think of such a thing? Nothing wrong at all, just dandy," she responded, not meeting his eyes as she looked down at her notes.

"You haven't said anything since Trugen came over," James pointed out, looking at her closely

"I'm not fond of being in the presence of bimbos like her, James."

Realization took him over; "Are you_ jealous,_ Evans?" he said, looking at her, disbelieving.

Lily scoffed and looked up at him. "Why would I be jealous of a tramp like her? Obviously, she just wants to get into your pants."

"I wouldn't mind that."

"That's disgusting - no, _you're_ disgusting," she said, looking at him appalling.

"Speaking of disgusting, I wonder what Pads and McKinnon are doing at the moment," James said as he extracted a piece of parchment out of his bag from beside him. He spread out the yellow paper in front of him, between him and Lily as they stared at it.

All thoughts at being cross with him slipped through Lily's mind. "Why do you have a worn-out piece of parchment in your bag?"

James mocked offence and pressed the back of his hand to his forehead, closing his eyes and sighing a dramatic sigh. "This isn't just some worn-out piece of parchment, Evans. This is the key behind our pranks, the secret to our success, the plan to our get-aways, the -"

"James, cut to the chase."

"This, love, is the Marauder's map," James introduced, waving a dramatic hand over the parchment. Lily rolled her eyes.

"The Marauder's map? Honestly, is this a joke?"

"Not at all, fair maiden. Watch." He took out his wand and touched the tip of it at the thick piece of paper, muttering "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Lines crossed the page where James' wand top touched it, forming allegiance with other lines that waved across the paper, fanning out as green words began scribbling at the top:

_ "Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present The Marauder's Map."_

"So, it's not a joke?" Lily asked, watching it closely before taking it in her hands and examining it.

"Not in the slightest. This, my dearest Lily-Bean, is a map that shows everyone everywhere in Hogwarts," James said, walking over to her as he looked over her shoulder.

"Everyone?"

"Mhm," he hummed. "Everything and everyone everywhere inside the grounds of Hogwarts. See? That's us," he pointed to two dots where James Potter and Lily Evans were labeled beside each other, above them 'the Library'.

"Is that Trugen with Miles Dickens in a broom cupboard? That's revolting! She's two years older than him!" Lily said, looking horrified.

"It's more the fact that she just asked me out, now she's snogging a fifth year, the blighter!" James exclaimed, his breath tickling her cheek, making goosebumps erupt on her body.

"I told you she's a tramp."

"No need to rub it in. Besides, I wasn't the one who graced her with my presence."

"So she graced you with her presence, huh?"

"Depends. Are you jealous?"

"What if I said yes?"

"Two things, yes she has graced me with her presence of long beautiful legs, and I knew you fancy me!"

"Don't let your dreams go to reality, Potter. I do not fancy you in any way whatsoever. Therefore, I am not jealous." Lily smacked his arm, not to hard to cause any damage nor too soft to not hurt, as she continued to search the Map for familiar names.

"Thus, no she did not grace me with her presence. You've already done that," James said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as he sat himself on the chair beside her.

"Is that Alice and Frank?!" she exclaimed, looking disbelievingly at the parchment at hand as she shrugged his arm off.

"Frank Longbottom? I never knew that chap could get laid!" James stared down at his roommate's dot that was standing in front of Alice Prewett's in the fifth floor corridor.

"Wait, why are Sirius and Marlene in a broom cupboard with Crabbe and Goyle? Are you sure this map is actually a map? Not some prank you and your Marauder's decided to pull?" Lily looked up at him, her eyes narrowed.

"Wh - no! Course not! Let me see that." James took the map away from her and laied it on the table, observing it closely. "There's Mary and Moony from the dungeons - why would they be coming from the dungeons? I'm sensing that our 'friends' lied to us about Quidditch tryouts."

"Really? I'm just realizing this as well," Lily said, sarcasm dripping at her statement.

"Sod off, Evans. The map never lies, so our friends lied. Then if Mary and Remmy are coming from the dungeons, Sirius and McKinnon in the broom cupboard, where's Peter?"

"There he is, in the common room," Lily pointed to a dot labeled Peter Pettigrew.

"That still doesn't explain what Padfoot and McKinnon are doing in a broom cupboard with Crabbe and Goyle, does it?" James looked at Lily before returning to the map.

"No, you think something's up?" she said, her brow furrowed as she worried about the possibilities they might be in.

"Time to find out," he said, standing up. Lily looked at him, shaking her head before pushing her chair back and standing up as well.

"But what are we supposed to do with our books and essays? We can't just leave them here, nor can we postpone doing them. Someone might steal our work," she said, giving the text books a long stare. She looked up at James to find him ogling at her, his mouth open. "What?"

"That's sad, Evans. Our friends are in a broom cupboard with soon-to-be Death Eaters, and you're thinking about work," he said, taking the map and shuffling around the table to get his bag.

"Well, I'm sorry about caring for my education, alright? Now shall we go see what they're up to?" Lily piled her books together and shoved them inside her bag, following James as he led the way out the library, his eyes glued on the map he held out in front of him.

"They're on the first floor, lets take a shortcut," he said once out the library. They walked down several corridors, behind various portraits, and down a few staircases until they opened another portrait that led to a secret corridor. They walked down and opened a door which led to the first floor.

"Merlin, that's a shortcut? We should have just walked down the staircases, it would take less longer," breathed Lily, her hands on her knees as she took deep breaths. James ignored her and kept walking, opening the door to a cupboard.

"What are you two doing - oh," he stopped his question, looking down at the position his friends were in. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting across from them, looking dazed as they muttered something, occasionally glaring at each other while Sirius and Marlene were tangled together in their own limbs, Sirius on top.

"What are they doing?" Lily said from behind him, creeping her head over his shoulder. "Ugh, now that's repelling," she said once she saw what they were doing.

"Alright - er - break it up you two," he called and Sirius detached himself from Marlene, smirking at them.

"Sorry. Our love just can't be kept bottled inside us," he said, standing up and dusting himself off. Marlene kicked him before sitting up, buttoning her blouse and straightening her skirt.

"I thought you two were friends?" Lily said, looking between them. Sirius grinned sheepishly while Marlene blushed.

"With benefits," he added and she scowled at him.

"But why are they there while you two..." James trailed off, pointing to Crabbe and Goyle.

"Well, it's a long story," said Marlene, looking from the two Slytherins on the floor to Sirius who was grinning with his black locks sticking up in several places to James and Lily who seem to not comprehend the situation very well. Their mouths were open, forming an 'o' while they watched her state of appearance.

"You should start explaining before we come to the conclusion where you dragged them both against their will to watch you have a snogging session," James said, eyeing them warily.

"We'll explain everything once we're out of this dingy broom closet. It smells like chlorine." Sirius stepped outside the closet, walking past them as he tried to zip his pants, Marlene after him, trying to tame her hair by pressing it down and smoothing it out.

"Wait! What about Crabbe and Goyle? We can't just leave them here," Lily pointed to them who were now engaged in muggle dueling, Crabbe kicking Goyle while Goyle dodged and punched.

"I'll leave them there, I don't mind. Unless you'd like to get into a fight over Narcissa Black, I'd leave them as well," Sirius called over his shoulder as they walked up the staircases, Marlene unusually quiet.

"You can get suspended for this!" Lily called after him, closing the door on the fighting students as she and James ran after them, eager to find out why they were in a closet.

"This was worth it, cause I got a snog out of McKinnon," Sirius responded, puffing out his chest while walking up the changing stairs. Marlene smacked the back of his head, her cheeks red.

* * *

"You did _what_?!" Lily screamed, her eyes alight and spitting fire as she gazed at the five of them who were all sitting on the couch in front of her in the deserted common room (once the students seen Lily's appearance, they scrambled up the dormitory stairs, knowing not to mess with her temper), piled on top of each other.

"It was just -"

"Shut it, Marlene! This is your wrong doing, isn't it?! You and Sirius Black over there," she shouted, pointing to Sirius who was sitting in the middle of the couch, grinning from ear to ear. He gazed up at her before winking at James who was leaning on the fireplace, his arms crossed and face sullen.

"To be fair, it's _all_ our doing," chided Peter and Sirius threw a pillow at him.

"All of you were in it? Remus, Mary, is that true?" Lily turned to Mary who sat by the arm of the couch, squished in by Peter. She looked up at her, her eyes bright as she nodded, watching Lily's face fall, her silhouette outlined by the light of the fire on her back.

"Ugh, this - And Remus! You, a prefect!"

"I did it to prove the Slytherins might not have anything to do with it," he said, un-shamefully.

"I can't - James, say something!" Lily scolded, turning on her heel to change course of the glare to him.

James sighed and stood up straight, walking over to stand beside Lily. " How come I wasn't in on this?" he finally exclaimed and Lily's eyes widened in anger. He looked at her before saying, "Sorry, sorry." He coughed several times, putting on a deep voice to match Jenkins' and said "That's very wrong, boys."

"You're useless," she said, rolling her eyes before turning back to them. "So, for stealing from a Professor, ten points from Gryffindor. For sneaking into a Professor's office, another ten points," she called over the objections caused by Sirius and Marlene (and a groan from James).

"Come on, Lily. Is that really necessary?" Mary piped and Lily frowned at her.

"Very. Therefore, you four - I'm not counting Peter, he didn't do anything - don't do this imbecilic again!" And with that, Lily stomped off towards the girls dormitory, her hair trailing behind her furiously with the eyes of six on her.

"So, what were Crabbe and Goyle like when they took Amortentia?" James asked, his eyes on Sirius. They all stood up, Mary and Marlene baiding good night and following Lily up the steps, walking slowly.

"Oh, mate it was hilarious..."


	13. An awkward marriage

**A/N: With shedding almost a hundred tears, head banging on the table, and hair nearly being ripped out, the chapter is done. I swear, I'm this close to breaking down. I'm sick of everything in life, all I want to do is girl into a ball under the covers of my bed and never come out. You know What that is? A serious case of I-hate-my-life-and-all-I wanna-do-is-watch-YouTube-videos-and-read plague. That's what it is.**

* * *

Mary woke up to the sun glaring at her through her four-poster curtains. She opened her eyes, trying to adjust them to the light but it seemed that the sun wasn't the only think that woke her up on Friday.

"Mary, Mary! Lily's gone missing!" Marlene's shrieking seeped through her curtains, making her admit a sound that was between a sigh and a groan. Marlene yanked the curtains from around their hangers and stood, facing Mary with her hands on her hips, her chocolate hair a rat's nest as her red eyes narrowed towards her.

"Marlene, do we have to do this again? She already left for the Great Hall just like the other days after she got cross at us for what we did," Mary said, turning on her stomach to bury her face in her pillow.

"What if this is different? What if she actually left us and went to live with the other seventh year girls? Mary, wake up, we have to look for her!" Marlene jumped on her, making her squirm on the bed as she struggled to turn and look at her.

"Mar, have you had any sleep at all these past few days?" she asked once she became aware of the state Marlene was in. The days past since Wednesday, her appearance has been looking horrendous, with her usual flowing hair in a pony tail on the top of her head, her eyes with several bags underneath them, and her clothes rumpled and careless looking.

Marlene scowled and said a bit too quickly, "That's irrelevent, it has nothing to do on the subject we're discussing, why would you think that? That's not true, it's absobloodylutely incorrect, why would you think that?"

"Well, since you look like rubbish I just assumed - _ow!_ Okay, I'm sorry," Mary retaliated, rubbing her forearm where she got smacked by. She scowled up at her, sitting up, knowing fully well that she was not going to get an extra five minutes of sleep. "Were you with Sirius?"

"What? No, of course not, why would you think of such a foul thing?" Marlene denied, looking horrified as she got off of her and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I just assumed because your hair is a piece of debris, you're barely getting sleep at night, your clothes being rumpled all the time, and Sirius admitting that he got a 'one good snog' out of you, I just assumed..." Mary shrugged and peeled the covers off of her, standing up and stretching, oblivious to the bashful Marlene behind her.

"I'm going to kill him. When did he say?"

"Once you two came back that night. Well, I reckon you two snogged since he did this, "Mary made a face where she puckered her lips, "and pointed at you behind your back, so we just guessed."

"We? Who else did he tell, Jorkins I hope?"

"Why would you hope - you know, never mind," Mary shook her head, walking to the bathroom as Marlene scrambled off the bed.

"Who else knows?" she said through the door after Mary closed it on her face.

"I dunno, the Marauders? Everyone knows, Mar. This is _Hogwarts_, things spread like fire here."

"I'm going - he - we - agh! That was off the topic, Lily has disappeared and we are talking about my relationship with Sirius Black - not that there is one," she added briskly, fumbling with her thumbs as she walked towards her trunk to dress herself.

"Someone is lying a bit too much today, aren't they?" came Mary's voice, muffled by the door.

"I'm not lying! Lily actually disappeared, are you not observing the emptiness in the room?" Marlene waved a hand behind her (as if she could see) as she searched through her trunk, gesturing to the room which was almost empty except for her and Mary, the rest already gone to breakfast.

"You've been doing this for the past three days, Marlene. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be? It's not like I can't keep a stable relationship nor is Lily cross with us and this homework is all dandy and not piling on top of us," Marlene laughed nervously after talking hurriedly, a sign of a white lie.

"Marlene, you're not... feeling _guilty,_ are you?" Mary asked, appearing out of the bathroom, her face pensive and observant.

"No! I'm not, not at all. I don't know what has gotten into you, Mary, you and these ideas. Why would you think of such a thing?" she said, her voice high as she pulled her skirt around her waist and over her blouse.

"It's your behavior and lack of sleep, Mar. You don't think that this is all signs of just randomness, do you? You're not sleeping very well, you look like shit - sorry but it's the truth - and you lie pretty badly these days. It's called guilt, Marlene. Every human being goes through it," she said, walking to her own trunk and getting dressed.

Marlene ran a brush through her hair, the first time in days, before saying, "Maybe, but I still think that that's a lie. I'm doing fine if Lily would just forget what happened and move on and would stop being missing every morning -"

"If we don't rush, we're going to be missing from McGonagall's class," Mary cut Marlene off from her bitterness and began tying her shoes and pushing her out the door.

"'Morning, Remus, Peter, Sirius," Mary said, walking down the stairs as the three boys shuffled their feet on the floor, dragging themselves off the stairs. They looked up and groaned, Sirius scowling, Peter grumbling, and Remus smiling in a not-so pleasant way.

"What's up with you three? It looks like you lot have been to hell and back," Marlene commented, materializing next to Mary and eyeing their complexions warily. Peter shook his head, walking out the portrait hole, Sirius just rubbed his back saying something about a rough night and Remus rolled his eyes.

"If you've been up all night, you'll know how it feels," he said and they began walking out the Gryffindor common room, following Sirius and Peter as they walked down the moving staircases.

"Then I know how it feels," mumbled Marlene, walking away and catching up to Sirius who smiled tiredly at her. She smiled back, fixing his tie and straightening out a few creases on his robes.

"Say, where's James?" Mary asked, looking up at Remus who was looking at the ground, his eyes trailed on the tiles before him. She watched him, his face more tired than ever. He looked worse for wear than Marlene, his baggy eyes twice their size and bloodshot, his robes hanging loosely around his body and a large scratch from his left eyebrow to the to the bottom of his nose covered his face, appearing visibly on him. It indeed looked like he had been through hell and back. "Remus, are you okay? You look a bit under the weather."

"I'm fine," he replied politely and looked up at her. "He's down at breakfast, James. He couldn't sleep either so he went down to eat. What about Lily? She's not still bashed about that plan we did to find out if they're Death Eaters or not, is she?" he answered her question.

"She's downstairs too. She's been doing it ever since she found out, going early to the Great Hall. It's quite annoying actually, your best friend not talking to you at all except for asking you to pass the pumpkin juice or something," she trailed off sadly as they walked into the Great Hall, the hubbub of students surrounding them, a wave of chit-chat and quaking owls engulfing them. They made their way towards the mop of black hair they could have spotted anywhere and the redhead beside him who was eyeing a piece of paper in front of her.

"'Morning," they all greeted, Sirius sitting in front of James with Marlene and Peter beside him and Remus and Mary sitting either side of them, Mary on Lily's side and Remus on James'. James nodded, staring at Lily whose face seemed green as she stared at the letter an owl that was nipping at her goblet dropped in front of her.

"Lily? Is everything okay?" Mary asked, leaning forward to look at her closely. James shook his head, looking at Sirius with a look.

"What? What is it? Is everything all right? Is everyone okay?" Sirius asked concerned, looking between James to Lily who sat, watching the black and yellow print.

"Everything is all right it's just -" he started but Lily cut him off, looking at Marlene slowly.

"Petunia's getting married," was all she said, her face contorted in near tears.

"To whom? That fat blubber she calls a boyfriend?" Marlene asked, not knowing whether to laugh or to puke.

"If you're talking about Vermin Dodgers, then that's the one," said James, taking a sip out of his goblet.

"It's Vernon Dursely," Lily corrected and looked at the letter revoltingly before throwing it on the table, making Mary and Marlene have a silent fight at who gets to read it first.

"Who has a name that's Vernon Dursely? He'd be better off with Vermin Dodgers, now that's a name," Sirius commented, smirking despite the pain in his back. James looked up at him and smirked.

"Thank you! Now can you please tell Lily that? She thinks it's impolite for dissing her sisters fiance " he said, waving his hands in the air as Marlene snatched the paper before Mary had a chance to blink. She grinned victoriously before taking it and reading it quietly, her eyes moving slowly.

"She called you by _Freak_? What kind of sister is that? I'd murder her in her sleep if she said that to me," she said, looking up to look at Lily who rolled her eyes and began playing with her food.

"_'I don't want you in my wedding, you and your abnormal ways but mum wouldn't have it any other way. She wants you as a bridesmaid but I declined, knowing that your freakishness will demolish the building. You'll still be able to come, as long as that freak show you call a school will not be mentioned.'_ What the sodding hell?! Is she mental?! You're her sister for Merlin's sake, she can't treat you that way! _Your abnormal ways_, if anything, she's abnormal!" Marlene read aloud, looking abashed. Lily shook her head as the group around her arouse in comments, Sirius saying something about her being 'too posh for jokes' which had nothing to do with the subject, Mary glared at the paper as if it was the actually sister, her mumbles hardly audible throughout the fights, Remus commented something about her not understanding the wizarding world an James called her a 'Tosser with issues', Peter adding a few comments hither and thither.

"Enough! Yes, she's a pain in the arse and cannot control her rage against me but I don't give a rats fart! She doesn't want me at her wedding, I'm going to her wedding!" she yelled, glaring at them all with her hands in the air. She looked at Marlene and held out her hand towards her, gazing at her pointedly.

Marlene sighed and handed her back the paper, her eyes full of bitterness and resentment towards that small piece of parchment that only a hundred words could spare, all lecturing her about her freakish ways and her mother forcing her to invite her to the wedding.

"Now, we shall forget this even happened, Petunia never sent this letter, and I'm still cross at the lot of you. Now, James you haven't answered my question. Why do you look like a piece of shit?" Lily said, turning on her seat to look at James, who was scratching the back of his neck nervously, looking at his friends in turn. They shrugged, clearly stating 'It's your problem, not ours.'

"I didn't sleep very well, that's all," he lied, looking at her angelic.

"You _all_ didn't sleep very well? You guys look horrible!" she admitted, looking at all of them who put their heads down, shoveling food into their mouths.

"It's just like telepathy, Evans. If one of us can't sleep, none of us can," said Sirius, grinning tiredly at her.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I just wrote a chapter of absolute nothing, and yes it's really short, but I've been feeling like shit this week. I got a C in Algebra and I wanted to shoot myself, and two D's in language, I started crying. Life is just so bloody hard this week, suicide was one of my options. Anyway, review to make my problems go away and I can live peacefully? And tell me which ship you want more to see? Or more Gryffindor or Ravenclaw or Slytherins or Hufflepuff's? You know,the usual. Leave a review and tell me please.**


	14. New recruits, old recruits, and Trugen

"Jamsie, get up or you'll miss Hogsmeade!" Sirius sang in a now subconscious James, making him grunt in response and roll over on his side, bringing the pillow over his ear.

"Come on, Prongs! It's the first Hogsmeade of the year, don't tell me you want to sleep in," Peter chirped, sitting across from Sirius on the other side of James' bed.

"Leave me alone..." he moaned, hardly audible through the pillow.

"Jamesie-poo! Evans will be there, you don't want to risk going to Hogsmeade with Evans just so you can kip all day," Sirius rolled his eyes at his best friend. He can be impractical at times.

"Disregarding the appearance of Trugen," he mumbled. Though his voice was barely distinct, Sirius could sense the annoyance in it and the depression, though he hardly understood why. Trugen, to most normal students, is a fit bird and is willing to shag almost any student. He, Sirius, could gradually think of why James wouldn't want to be in the presence of her.

"Trugen? _Chloe_ Trugen? That horny brunette from Hufflepuff? Why didn't you say anything? She's coming with us?" Sirius asked, looking like Christmas arrived early.

"Why do you seem so delighted? Aren't you getting on well with Marlene?" said Remus who was crossing his bed towards the bathroom.

"Yeah, however, McKinnon isn't ready for neither a shag nor a relationship. Trugen is just a passing with very _very_ long legs that can -"

"Okay, we got the idea. What I don't get is how she ended up coming with us. Last I heard, she was snogging a sixth year just yesterday," Peter cut Sirius off, sitting up from his kneeling position and sitting on his bed beside James'. He watched him as James sat up begrudgingly, fiddling with the bedside table for his glasses.

"I didn't mean to forget, it just slipped my mind with Qudditch, Jenkins -"

"Evans," Sirius finished for him, rolling his eyes and spreading himself across the bed, hands behind his neck and legs crossed at the ankles, staring at James in front of him.

"Sod off, Padfoot." He kicked him as Sirius chuckled. "Anyway, Trugen just came up to us while the rest of you were out doing that ineffective plan to find out if they were Death Eaters or not. Which, let's face it, was imbecilic of you because they obviously are," James stated, saying it like he was explaining a simple charm to a second year.

Remus from the bathroom said with a twinge of anger in his voice, "We don't know for sure, James. Stop accusing them of things we're not positive of."

"Whatever Moony. So yeah, she came to us - Evans and I - and asked if we're going to Hogsmeade -"

"And you being the gentleman you are asked her out in front of Lily? That was really thick-headed of you, Prongs."

"I didn't ask her out, Moony! She just asked herself out!" he defended himself, looking outraged at the door where Remus materialized behind it.

"To be fair James, I did hear Trugen say to one of her friends that you asked her out," Frank Longbottom, who shared their dormitory, said from across the room where he appeared behind his four-poster curtains. James glared at him.

"I didn't ask her out! It's one of those things where she sprouts rubbish and expects everyone to believe it! You were a victim yourself, Frank," he said while pointing at him.

"Aye, when she accused me of having tentacles on the back of my tongue. She told everyone who listened that she kissed me and felt tentacles, _tentacles_!"

"That's gross. But still, she's coming with us and it's a brilliant opportunity to make McKinnon jealous. Then she'll realize she wants to be in a relationship with me and we'll hit it off," Sirius planned, sitting up and crossing to his trunk, extracting worn-out jeans from it. The male population in the room groaned at the site of it.

"You're not wearing those today, are you?" Remus asked, looking at the pair of trousers like it was a deadly rodent, shuffling away from it and towards his own bed.

"Mhm, I am. These are the trousers I first lost my virginity with and they've given me luck ever since. Every time I sport these, I've gotten laid. So if it isn't with McKinnon tonight, it's without a doubt Trugen, mark my words," he responded fondly holding up the pair of torn light blue jeans in front of him, a smile spread across his face.

James shared a look with Frank, Remus, and Peter before walking to the bathroom to freshen up and go down to the Great Hall.

"If you didn't ask her out, Prongs, how is she arriving with us?" Peter asked, curiosity taking the better of him as he striped from his night clothes and attired to clothes more suitable to the rainy weather with a muggle sweater and trousers.

"She just casually brought the subject up and it happened from there," he replied, brushing his teeth and taking a glance at his hair, knowing it was pointless.

"So, you didn't ask her out?"

"Sirius, shut it. I didn't ask her out, yeah? If you don't believe me, ask Evans. She was there and she'll tell you what happened."

"I forgot about her. How did she take it?"

"Quite well, I suppose," James walked out of the loo and approached his trunk at the foot of his bed, pulling out his day clothes.

"Was she quiet?" Remus asked, pulling the jumper over his head.

"Yeah, I guess so. She took it okay, I don't see why she shouldn't," James shrugged, oblivious.

"Prongs, I've never seen someone as thick as you," Sirius muttered, shaking his head.

"What did I do?"

"Nothing, you're just an idiot that doesn't know a thing when it comes to birds," Remus answered for him, earning a cheer from Peter.

"Thanks for the honesty, mate," James said bluntly, nodding while he dressed himself.

* * *

"Lily, you seem a bit... down today. Wanna talk about it?" Mary noticed, looking at her from across the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall at breakfast. The girl in question looked up and shook her head, turning back to playing with the eggs and pushing them around with her fork.

"It's everything, Mary. First it was Snape, then it was Voldemort, then it's Petunia, now it's Ja -" she stopped herself from carrying on with the sentence and shoved a pile of eggs in her mouth, appearing to chew absentmindedly.

"We're not dimwits, Lily. We know it has something to do with James. Spill," Marlene ordered, noticing the lost sentence and look on her friend's face. The way it seemed to redden just by saying the first two letters, the way her nose twitched and her eyes never met her's or anyone else's.

"It has nothing to do with James. I was going to say Jenkins, that's what I was going to say," she lied swiftly, watching as the owl post swooped in from the ceiling.

"He hasn't been ogling at you, has he?" Mary took a glance at him at the staff table where he sat in between Flitwick and Sprout, his eyes fixed on his plate of breakfast.

"No, it's - he - well - I dunno, the way he teaches, how he humiliates James and Sirius because of Mr. Potter, he doesn't seem like he is a Professor at all, more like a -"

"Death Eater?" Marlene suggested as Mary opened the Daily Prophet that was laid in front of her from a passing owl.

"Who's a Death Eater?" Sirius' voice said as it's owner sat beside Marlene across from Lily who rolled her eyes.

"Jenkins of course," Marlene said, looking at him from the corner of her eye.

"No, not Jenkins. It says here that Alecto and Amycus Carrow have been discovered as being Death eaters!" Mary read aloud, staring at the paper in her shaking hands.

"Who's been discovered as Death Eaters?" James dropped himself in between Mary and Lily who snatched the paper from her hands and stared at it.

"The Carrow's," she replied in a small voice, laying eyes on the _Wanted_ picture in front of her where a woman who seemed so familiar gave her a wicked smile before opening her mouth in a silent scream. It frightened her that even students who left school mere months ago have been joining a man who is willing to shed a pool of blood just for power, to 'clean the wizarding race'.

"The Slytherin siblings whom nearly chopped my arm off two years ago in Potions?" James questioned, remembering the memory of a prank gone wrong.

"It seems so," Sirius said, looking solemn as Remus sat beside him and Peter beside Mary. They eyed their faces of depression.

"Who died?" Peter mocked, reaching for a bowl of oatmeal.

"No one, just a couple of new recruits for Voldemort," said James, turning away from the paper to stare at his plate. He looked up at Sirius who was busy ogling over James' shoulder. He turned around to find Chloe Trugen strutting down in between the tables towards them. He inwardly groaned at the site.

"Good morning!" she chided once she reached the table, her eyes from Sirius to James but staying on the latter. Mary, Marlene, and Lily eyed her, knowing that it won't go down well.

"Morning," Peter, Remus, and Sirius greeted, James taking the role of not hearing her.

"What brings you hear, Trugen? Didn't we say we'd meet at two?" he finally asked, looking up at her as she gave him a dazzling smile and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Mary and Marlene looked at each other, exchanging a surprised look before turning to Lily who seemed to carry on with breakfast like Chloe wasn't there.

"Yes, but I couldn't wait to spend time with you and everyone seemed to have already gone, I didn't want it to seem as if I wasn't coming." She let out a laugh and sat beside Peter, looking at him with a disgusted look flashing across her face before it got masked with a flirtatious grin.

"Um, yeah. We're not going yet, we haven't finished breakfast -"

"I have!" Sirius cut James off and stood up, looking down quickly at Marlene whose face resembled Lily's hair at the moment before returning to Chloe whose grin only widened. "Come on, Prongs. Let's go! You can eat there!"

James sighed and looked at Lily. "Are you ready to go?"

"I suppose," she shrugged and stood up, the rest following in toe. Mary and Marlene caught up with Lily in the entrance hall, linking arms with her in the middle.

"What was that about?"

"James asked _Trugen_ out? And didn't we plan to go with each other, group with group?"

"He's such a nitwit. Trugen is the biggest slut there is and - Lily, are you all right?" Marlene paused from cursing the pair who was in front of them, Trugen wedged in the muddle between Sirius and James who had his head down and his hands in his pockets. Chloe laughed her high-pitched laugh at something Sirius said, Marlene glaring at the back of her brown hair.

"I'm fine, just thinking," Lily said, brushing it off as they made their way towards the carriages.

"About the Death Eaters or James and Trugen?" Mary asked, looking at her skeptically.

"Why would you think I'm thinking about Trugen and Potter? If he wants to snog her then he can, I have nothing wrong with that, he's perfectly capable at snogging whomever he pleases," she defended a little too quickly. Mary and Marlene shared a look.

"Are you jealous?" the latter asked, smirking.

"You wish."

* * *

Snape was staring again. He couldn't help it, the way her hair would glisten in the sunlight of the morning, the way she'd shake it out of her way, how she'd furrow her brow in sadness at something written in the paper these days. He wished he could send her a sign to warn her about the upcoming plans. But of course, that revolves around certain death to him or her. Hence, he stayed quiet, watching as Potter joined her following Black and leading Pettigrew and Lupin.

"Severus, you're staring again," was what drove him out of his thoughts. He looked away from the scene, having it already memorized in the back of his mind. Regulus watched him, slightly concerned. If he gets caught staring by one of the others whom were watching them, the General would hear of it and he wouldn't be pleased. It might be the last time Snape gets to lay eyes on anything.

"You shouldn't be, if someone catches you -"

"I know, Regulus, there'll be consequences," he snapped, "I heard it the first time."

Narcissa, who sat a few seats down, said to them "We should get going. It's half past eleven and we're supposedly meeting him in another hour."

They nodded. "You go first and we'll meet you there as to not arouse any suspicions," Snape suggested and Narcissa obliged, looking pointedly at Dolohov and Mulicuber. They followed her out the Great Hall, her blonde hair trailing behind her in a sheet.

"We should be going now," Regulus said after a few moments. He stood up, looking at Jenkins then at Snape who was watching the other side of the room.

"Yeah, let's go." He stood up, walking out of the Great Hall, dreading the upcoming hour of meeting with _him_ and waiting for his commands.

* * *

**A/N: Ayo! I know, I promised I'd update yesterday but with going to my grandpa's house, three exams every day, and a serious case of mental depression, I could'nt bring myself to write. But I did! With three cups of hot chocolate, two to three bars of chocolate and almost a placed of gum, it's done! In answer to a review, the ships are Jily, Blackinnon, Remus/Mary (they're not a couple, just friends but if you to see more of their friendship!), and Peter with someone. I have everything planned so tell me what ship you want to see more. Oh, I have a few questions.**

**1. In an honest oppinion, how old do you think I am based on my writing? I might reveal how old I really am, only if you tell me how old you think!**

**2. Who do you think him or the General is? Tell me in a review!**

**And 3. Am I doing okay with the story? I know I'm not uploading as much but I'm falling behind on my lessons, my chores aren't doing themselves and I'm just procastinating with everything! I'm trying to updare faster and longer chapters but I'm almost physically incapabale. Tell me what you think!**


	15. The General and jealousy

**A/N: Sorry it took so long, I was memorizing Jon's new video. Go watch it if you haven't. _That_ is much better than _this_. Now go!**

**Disclaimer: stop rubbing the fact that I'm not Jo in my face, yeah?**

* * *

Snape fiddled with his thumbs that were clasped in front of him on the table, so tightly his knuckles turned ghostly white. He stared at them, tuning out what _he_ was saying, things about precaution and extra care. He looked up at the group in turn that consisted of only six people, not including the General who was sitting at the head of the table, his face in the shadows of the light the dingy room above the Hog's Head had to offer. Snape turned and looked at him as he spoke something that sparked his interest.

"I have gotten orders from the Dark Lord to stay put. The Ministry and Dumbledore are on our every move, even for me. It's been moved to an unknown date, the Dark Lord says, until we can figure out when discreetly," he said, voice calm though certainly not soothing. If anything, it was the opposite to Snape, as if there was no guilt in that thing beneath his ribcage he calls a heart.

"Is that all? Nothing else we need to do? No plans to make ourselves worthy of joining him?" Dolohov said from where he was sitting on the right side of him.

"Patience, Antonin. There will be plenty of chances to proving yourself. There is a plan the Dark Lord wishes to be completed by the end of Christmas break."

"And is it part of his orders to not tell us?" Snape, who was entirely quiet through the whole cession, snapped as he looked up at him. The General smiled a villainous smile (not that it showed) and turned his head to Snape's direction.

"Severus, always so endearing," he mocked in a false tone as Snape's eyes flashed. "If you choose to find out what your next execution is, ask politely."

Snape scowled and the group around him tensed, exchanging looks with one another before looking fixedly at him.

"What's the plan?" Narcissa asked from the far end of the table when Snape refused to open his mouth.

The General appeared from behind the shadows, only revealing half his face, showing off a satisfied expression. "To abolish Sirius Black."

Regulus looked up, the first time he showed any movement since the General arrived. His face was a mask of fear and desperation that came and went in a few seconds, replacing it a blank demeanor.

"The _Gryffindor_ Sirius Black?" Mulicber asked, leaning forward on his seat in anticipation and excitement. He'd always despised him and now was the time to finish him off.

The General nodded and said directly to Regulus who stared back at him, as though bored, but his insides were doing the tango, "The Dark Lord isn't pleased with what you've done to Raven because you had help from Severus. Hence, your chance to prove yourself worthy to become a Death Eater and earn this," he pulled his left robe sleeve, revealing a skull with a snake slithering out of it's mouth. The room fell into silence, not that it wasn't in one already, but more of an awed silence than a forced one. They weren't conducted into the Death Eaters yet, even though they had to oblige in many orders he puts them in. Therefore, it was a great honor, especially with Regulus being the youngest of them all.

"You must kill your blood traitor brother - with no help - by the fifth of January. If the task is complete by then, welcome to the Death Eaters. If not, then there will be a problem. But you, Regulus, are a clever student and you'll figure this out before the deadline, won't you?" His voice didn't sound comforting at all as they watched him stand, awaiting the conformation.

Regulus nodded slowly when all eyes turned to him. Kill your brother in three to four months, that shouldn't be difficult at all.

* * *

Lily scowled, playing with her bottle cork, twirling it on the table as she_ tried_ to tune out Trugen's voice. She was sitting in the Three Broomsticks, her eyes drained on the cork, ignoring the bustle of students around them from where she sat at the edge of the booth. Eight people in one table isn't exactly a canny idea. Trugen was sitting across from her, wedged in between James and Sirius (again), enjoying the situation (again) while the hazel-eyed boy sighed and rested his chin in his hand, looking at Lily thoughtfully.

Sirius, however, seemed all rainbows and unicorns with the way things were stacking up, looking at Marlene across from him and then staring fixedly at Chloe, seemingly paying attention to the pointless things she said.

Marlene, from where she was sitting in the corner of the table between the wall and Mary, looked as if in another minute she might explode. Her face was as red as Rosmerta's Bloody Mary, and her eyes were narrowed deadly at the window beside her, either from annoyance or frustration.

"Oh, there's Alice Prewett. Is it true she's in a secret affair with Longbottom?" Chloe gossiped, looking interested at a girl who just entered the bar, releasing a gust of cold wind that was banging on the door.

"Let's ask her," Mary said, waving her over. Alice smiled and shook her head, pointing at a table where Frank Longbottom was seated, a grin splitting his face as she made her way towards him.

"Not so secret, is it?" Remus asked, looking tiredly at her.

Lily looked at Chloe who seemed to be loosing interest in the surroundings around her. The former turned to Sirius for excitement.

"Hey Sirius?" she said, resting a hand on Sirius' bicep, batting her eyelashes.

"Hey Trugen?" Sirius called back, smirking at Marlene who stared straight at the window, brushing her hair behind her ear. James removed his hand from his chin and sat up, looking at the pair beside him incredulously, as well as the rest of the group.

"Do you think we can go for a walk? I'm getting quite stuffy in here and I was thinking maybe we can get some chocolate on the way?" Chloe whispered in his ear, sounding seductive Sirius jumped up, the middle of his pants moving ever so lightly. He gestured for James to get up and let them through. Chloe stood, a satisfied grin on her face as she dragged Sirius out the room and into the chilly air.

"That was... intimate," Mary said, looking at the rest. Marlene was still staring out the window that allowed her to see the passing students struggling through the wind. Now though, her attention was caught by the couple that was pressed against a wall, their faces attached to one another.

"And I reckoned she was interested in me," James said, looking out the window as well. Lily raised her eyebrow.

"Are you _jealous?"_ Lily, who was - shamefully - pleased that Chloe went off with Sirius, asked bashfully, staring at him.

James shrugged. "Wouldn't have minded a bit of action."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I dunno, I suppose that since I've been hanging around with you, I haven't had much of a relationship with anyone."

"Oh, so what you're going on about is _my_ fault?"

"I didn't say that. But, supposedly, yes."

"What have I got to do with it? I have nothing to do with your sexual desideratum!"

"Because it's _you,_" James pointed a finger at her. "These past few weeks I felt like there's a chance you might actually fancy me. Ergo, my hopes will go up."

Lily scoffed. "Oh, just because you're too daft to realize that I will never go out with you, nonetheless fancy you, doesn't mean that it's my fault!"

Mary sighed, rolling her eyes at them once the bickering came to an end. They folded their arms and looked out the window, not looking at each other as they huffed. Mary turned to look at Remus and Peter in front of her, the latter taking a sip of butterbeer and looking across the room. Remus caught Mary's eye and jerked his head towards the front of the bar. Curiously, she turned around to find a blonde Slytherin staring at their table directly at Peter.

Remus and Mary shared a look, smirking at each other. Peter noticed and blushed, shrinking into his seat.

* * *

"You two are really thick in the head," Remus said to James and Lily who scowled at each other before looking away. They walked towards the carrages, the wind howling in their ears around them. Mary rolled her eyes at their attitude from where she as walking beside Peter who remained quiet after getting caught staring at a sixth year.

"I reckon you're just talking about one side there, Remus," Lily grumbled, her head down.

"I second that. Someone is just too _thick_ to admit the denial they're living in," James snapped, looking at Lily and giving her an artificial smile which she did the opposite of. Lily frowned, climbing into a carriage and sitting down at the end of it.

"You're living in hopes and dreams which will not come true," she responded, making three of them groan.

"Here we go again," Mary mumbled and Remus gave her a sympathetic smile.

James was about to retort when someone stepped into the carriage, laughing.

"Hey, if it isn't my mates!" Sirius exclaimed, all too joyfully as he sat down beside James, flinging an arm around his shoulder.

"Not now, Sirius," his best friend said, looking the other way as the carriage took off, rocking on the sturdy road.

"Why the long face, Prongs? Evans break your ego?" Sirius smirked, winking at Lily on the other side of the transportation. She made sound in her throat that sounded in between a growl and a snort.

"In fact, that's exactly what happened. James was being an arse, being jealous about how you got some action and he didn't," Mary explained to him as he boomed with laughter.

"That's a good one," he chuckled and pretended to wipe a tear. "No really, what happened?"

"That is what happened, Black. And your mate here accused me of being the one who ruined it for him," Lily said, glowering at them.

Sirius whistled a low tune. "Low blow, Prongs. Even I know that's something you shouldn't have said."

"Don't act like it's not true!" James defended himself, turning to look at him. "I even said it before, that I might have a chance."

"You're not going to have a chance if you keep acting like an infant!" Lily snapped back. Mary and Remus shared an exasperated look.

"You're both acting like infants!" the latter shouted, cutting James' outcry. "Just stop it! James, you're taking this matter way too seriously. And Lily, just let it go. You know how he is," he said, giving her a pointed look.

Lily sighed and looked up at James who still didn't look pleased. She turned to Remus and said, "Yeah, you're right. I should be the better woman and say I'm sorry."

Sirius smiled, barking out a laugh while Peter, Remus, and Mary all groaned.

"Are you calling me a woman?"

"What if I am?"

"You think you're so smart, Evans. But in reality, you're just as daft as the rest of us."

"You just called yourself stupid."

"You're an idiot."

"Says the guy who called himself stupid!"

"Let it go, Evans!"

"Not until you admit that I have nothing to do with your sexual relationships!"

They were both standing up at that point, their faces red and fingers pointing at the opposite gender. Sirius looked interested his eyebrows almost disappearing in his black hair, Peter as well. Though Mary and Remus just sighed, knowing that either one of them gets killed by the other or one of them.

The carriage jerked sideways, making James and Lily topple and struggle to remain balanced. James was the first to fall back in his seat, followed by Lily in his lap, her hands on his shoulders for support and his arms around her waist. The group around them were silent, staring at the couple in awe and anticipation. A few whispers were exchanged in the fading light of the sun from where Sirius and Peter sat across from each other.

James stared at Lily, her hair in her face from the wind, shuffling around her. Her eyes were dilated pupils, staring back up at him as her nails digged deeper in his shoulder. James' eyes darted to her lips and then back up to her eyes, as if asking for permission. Immediately, her tongue came out and wet her lips as James bent his head down and her head moved upwards.

And the carriage stopped abruptly making them spring from each other. Lily stood up, trying to tame her hair in the wind and James coughed several times, looking around. Sirius grumbled something and gave Peter something while the former smirked.

"So," Mary coughed, releasing the tension in the air. "Are we going to kip here or are we going to go inside? Because I'm hungry."

Lily nodded, following her out the carriage and onto the steady ground, the boys behind her. She turned around and said to James, "I'm sorry, about before. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

James waved a hand and shook his head, giving her a smirk. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have accused you of the failure in my relationships."

Lily smiled, walking back to the castle with him. "Yeah, you shouldn't have."

"Accept my apology, Evans! Merlin, you make everything hard," he said, shaking his head but not stopping the lousy grin on his face when she shoved him.

"Not until you accept mine."

"I accept your sincere apologies, Evans," he teased and Lily laughed.

"Never said it was sincere."

"You're so sassy, Evans."

"I try." Lily smiled, her hand brushing his. He gave her a grin back.

"Accept my apology, will you?" he exclaimed, sitting down at the Gryffindor table beside Sirius who was looking around the Hall.

"I accept your honest apologies," Lily said, sitting beside him and reaching for a chicken leg.

"Never said it was honest," James mocked, making Lily shove him again and erupting a laugh.

"Stop acting like lovebirds, McKinnon has gone missing," Sirius snapped, still searching the Hall.

"She's not missing, she's with Drew," Mary solved his problem from across from him.

"She's with what Drew?"

"Drew Crews."

"The Ravenclaw?"

"Yup."

"Why is she with him?" Sirius exclaimed, looking outraged as he leaned forward on his elbows.

"He came after you left and wanted to talk to her. We haven't seen them since," Mary answered, shrugging.

"Who's jealous now?" James smirked, wiggling his eyebrows and Sirius frowned at him.

* * *

**A/N: leave a review because next chapter I'll be answering them!**


	16. Rewriting

**I know I haven't posted in about three weeks but I was busy with life. I know, believe it or not I actually had a social life. Since Jon Cozart (Yes ****_the _****Jon Cozart) followed me on Twitter and sent me a direct message things went cray! I had to translate and I hard my midterm exams, you know. But...**

**I've come to the realization when I looked at my story and I'm not happy with it. Don't start screaming *hides behind a chair* I'm rewriting it, so this is just... the end of this POV. I'm starting over. It's still going to have the same plot and subject, but this fanfic is over. Start looking forward for another Marauder seventh year... I know I hate them too. **


	17. IT'S UP!

THE REWRITTEN STORY IS NOW UPLOADED! It's called _All of us or none of us. _Please take a look at it! And review so I could know if you still want it to continue or not!


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